Tinsel Town
by TheWonderYears
Summary: There's Definitely Something In The Water.
1. Chapter 1

**Tinsel Town **

**Summary:** There's definitely something in the water.

**Genre:** HORROR, Romance, Drama

**_Warnings!_** **GORE, HEAVY violence, language,** **_Major_** Character Death, Mentions of Sexual—Okay, there is sex in this, its Ereri for god's sake.

**Rated M, ****_Definitely_**** M!**

(Eren and Levi are serial killers, so it's going to get a little wild!)

Got this prompt from Tumblr on the Ereri tag, and since I recently have become _absolutely enamored_ with the paring, I HAD to try my hand at writing it (with a bit of my own spin on things, of course) , And I've got to say I like the way it turned out.

This is dedicated to **Celadon Boogaloo, **because she's the only one that knows the story behind why this came to be. She was supposed to be the only one to ever lay eyes on this…whatever this is, but I changed my mind. Anyway, **this is actually pretty graphic. I'm warning you, it got a little gross and took on a life of its own. **

* * *

PART ONE

* * *

**Currently**

The room was heavy with smoke.

He was in some sort of shack; the walls were made of sturdy lumber, tied together in a style long abandoned. Rustic, he thought. Rustic save for the black iron cage he was tied and cramped in. Connie's legs were near his chest. He couldn't stretch them completely, and his neck was aching terribly from the way he was crouched over. He felt ashamed at the way he was huddled like a dog; he was close to whining and begging too. Begging for his life. He didn't want to look up, he didn't want to go to sleep, he didn't want to give up but he knew he had to.

Connie was scared.

He had never been so scared in his life. Not the scary-movie scared, that had you looking over your shoulder and flinching away from dark corners. No, this was gripping him like a physical being. Fear had him by the neck and it wasn't letting go. His heart wouldn't slow down and he couldn't fight off the shivers the rattled his body and rattled his cage. He was going to be sick— and then he was choking silently, again, on the smell of incense. It used to be his favorite flavor—on that his mother kept in living room to liven up the house—Dragon's Blood. Now, it made his eyes sting something fierce. Or, it could be the frightened and frustrated tears that rested there He had no way of knowing. He had no way of knowing how long he'd been here, either. He knew nothing. Not where his was—how deep in the forest was this place? How far away from home?—not what day it was and certainly not why this was happening to him. He was a good kid. He never hurt anyone. He got good grades, he helped the elderly in his spare time, so why? His thoughts pushed at his bottom lids, and a mournful cry pressed the patience of his sealed lips. He tried to muffle the sniffle that surprised him in its intensity, but it was too late. The figure on the other side of the room heard him. Connie watched out of the corner of his eyes as the man pushed off the wall, throwing his cigarette down and snuffing it with the heel of his boot, and squatted in front of him.

Levi have the boy a blank, looking him up and down in a disinterested fashion. He muffled a yawn with the palm of his hand, never breaking eye contact with the cowering child.

"Sorry for the incense." He said lowly. He laughed inwardly at the way the boy cringed at his voice. It was the first words spoken all night. He figured that, regardless of how many times Connie heard him speak over the last few months of his "stay", he would always jump like a frightened little squirrel the minute he opened his mouth. Levi always managed to find enjoyment in the small things. "It makes it stuffy in here, but Eren can't stand it when I smoke inside." Rivaille watched for his reaction silently. It was the first time he dropped Eren's name.

Connie's head jerked up at the mention of it. He felt panic seize him. "E-Eren?" He asked, frightened. "Eren Jaeger? Are you talking about Eren Jaeger?" He stammered hurriedly. God, he hoped not—

"Yeah." Shit. "Don't worry, he and the girl will be here soon. Then we can get things started." Levi was watching him again, noticing the way Connie's fists clenched. He let a little smile cross his face.

Connie didn't like the look of that. "You—you're not going to hurt him, are you?" Stupid. He'll probably lock him up, too. At least then you'll die with a friend. Connie looked fiercely into his cold eyes, waiting for an answer.

He was met with a dry laugh. "No. I'm not going to hurt him." Connie felt relief, but only for a moment. That still didn't explain anything as to why he was here. Or why Eren would be coming if he wasn't going to do anything to him. But then again, He hadn't done anything to Connie; He was knocked out for the majority of this nightmare, most likely with the help of drugs. It was a handful of days ago that his hands were tied behind him and he was shoved into this cage. So then why—?

"So why—"

"Suddenly chatty, huh?" Levi said, cutting him off. Connie wasn't stupid; he snapped his mouth shut. He noticed the stern edge in his eyes, even though the rest of his face didn't change. The man in front of him was intimidating to say the least. Three words had him shaking like an autumn leaf. He hated this weakness, this debilitating fear, but he was completely at this stranger's mercy. He had never been in a situation like this before, especially one that didn't make sense .So it made sense that he had questions! Or that he was chatty. No, he wasn't going to be a little bitch. He steeled himself.

"Yeah, I am." He said, trying his best not to wet himself. Levi raised an eyebrow and his lips curled at the ends.

"What's this?" he asked mockingly, waving a finger in Connie's face. "You suddenly grow balls on me?"

Before Connie could react, his face was mashed against the side of the cage. Connie grimaced, trying not to let the pain he felt show on his face. He felt warm breath blow across the side of his face, and he held his breath.

"Don't worry, little boy, in about—"He paused to glance at his watch. "Five minutes, all your questions will be answered, and then some." He let go, and Connie exhaled shakily. His breath caught when a cold hand caressed his face thought he bars.

"Oh, we're going to have so much fun." Levi said darkly, and Connie was sure, he would never be as scared as he was in this moment. That is, if he ever got the chance to be afraid of anything, ever again.

* * *

**Three Months Before**

Sasha needed to get a hold of herself. She had known him for too long to still not be able to look him in the eye without blushing horribly. She always managed to get caught up in the intensity those green eyes always held. Eren still didn't notice—or at least, she thought he didn't notice—and she was glad of it.

Eren Jaeger was made of dreams. His eyes, his smile—oh, his everything! Sasha was head over heels. She felt incredibly embarrassed about how much she liked him. They'd been going out for three months, since the end of September, and she was on cloud nine.

She never thought a guy like him would notice a girl like her. A girl that really loved food and most of the guys around her considered plain. Not to mention that she and Eren had been friends since freshman year and he never hinted at any sort of attraction to her until now. Even still, she would take what she got. She had done enough pining for the both of them.

But, she needed to get a hold of herself. It was a bad idea to get wrapped up in fantasies in the middle of class. Her teacher already had it out for her since she snuck snacks into her desk and munched on them steadily throughout the lesson. She had been called out enough for that, she didn't need to add "making googly-eyes at Jaeger" to the list of things her teacher held against her.

Sasha sighed, tapping her fingers on the desk. It was a little loudly if the way Mikasa glared at her was any indication. She froze. Mikasa was so mean to her. Sasha pouted.

She heard a slight laugh nearby. She looked over to see Eren laughing softly into his hand at her. She caught his eyes and they smiled. He then pointed to the broad and gave her a mocking, stern look. Sasha felt happy, even though he always caught her doing stupid things.

He was so dreamy. Did she say that already? Well, he was. He was the type of guy to protect her from big, scary monsters and make blood-oaths or something. And he was hers. Sasha still couldn't believe it. Eren Jaeger was dating her! Alright, enough. She would be able to dream more later. She spent so much time with him lately that she didn't have to fantasies anymore.

They even had a date tonight.

She loved to go wherever he wanted to take her. Sometimes, it was the park. Or the bookstore. A good looking guy like Eren, liking to read? Score! Sometimes it was the movies. She had even been over his house! He was the one, she was sure. No doubt about it! Lucky her, huh?

ǂǁǂ

Eren brushed his hair in the certain way he knew Sasha liked. He picked out some of his best clothes, brushed his teeth twice, and practiced his smile. He was set and ready to go. Sasha would be waiting. He smiled to himself secretly.

He was putting so much effort into this, just like Levi said he should. He couldn't help but feeling a little giddy every time he saw her. Did that mean he liked her? He wasn't sure. It didn't matter. He would do what he had to do. That didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it a bit, now did it?

* * *

_In the night, I hear him talk, the coldest story ever told. Somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul—_

_…_

_Time goes quicker between the two of us._

_(Lay me down, let the only sound, be the overflow)_

* * *

**Thirteen Years Before**

It first began when he was a child.

He hadn't been more than five years old. He was short for his age, barely coming up to his father's knee. He remembered in those days that he never stopped looking up at the man, both literally and physically. Not everyone's dad was a talented homicide detective that left more cases solved than not. On that day, he was sitting in the back of his father's squad car, fresh tears lining his face when he recalled the events of the day. He wasn't supposed to be here. His parents had just broken up, or he should say, his mother finally walked out on his over-worked father and only left her son because she couldn't physically couldn't pry the small, sobbing Eren out of his strong, calloused hands. He, for the first time in his short life, had watched his father lose his temper, watched him throw things and scream and rage. And Eren sat in the corner, shivering (not from the cold) while his mother cried and screamed and stomped. And then it was over, and he sat on his father's lap—he couldn't reach his little arms all the way around his father; only the tips of his finger touched no matter how hard he strained.—while his father nuzzled his hair and whispered nothings to him.

His father hadn't even had the time to clean up the strewn papers and broken dishes before he got a call. Eren knew the number; he had seen it a thousand times before. He made no move to remove himself from the warm lap, and his father didn't either. The conversation was quick, his father's clipped words only remembered for the tone and not the content. Eren heard a word he never come across before: gruesome. The word was odd on his tongue as he mouthed it. He had no idea what it meant. He would make sure to ask what it meant when his father's face wasn't set in such harsh lines. He could wait. He expected to be dropped off at the neighbors or something like that. Not this time. This time he was strapped in the back seat of the car with his favorite elephant toy as he watch blurry caricatures of trees and glows from porch lights whiz by the car window.

It was late. Late enough that he was fighting off drooping eyes and the darkness behind his lids. In fact, his father probably bet on him nodding off so he wouldn't be bored in the car. But Eren wanted to know what gruesome was. As soon as his father finished up, he would ask him, and then they would go home and have hot tea with his mama—oh. That's right. His mama wasn't home. She left. She wasn't coming back.

(Even at such a young age, Eren understood that this wasn't like the other times. His father never cried the other times, his parents never physically fought for him. This was different.)

So he began to cry.

He cried his little heart out, wiping his nose on his elephant. His little body shook with the intensity of his sobs. Eren knew that this was a huge change. A shift that he didn't like. So he cried. Then he wanted his daddy, but his daddy was busy, he remembered.

(Eren only wanted daddy when he was sad; any other time he got his father.)

So he craned his little neck over the window, to see if he could spot his daddy. They were in front of a nice brownstone, smashed between other identical houses—an indicator of the nicer parts of the city—and from what he could see there was tape everywhere. He couldn't tell the color in the glow of the dim streetlights. He knew the difference between them. Yellow was for most crimes. Red was for death. Gruesome swam to his mind again. It didn't sound like a good word. Not something you would use for a robbery or running a yellow light. That meant the tape was probably red. He couldn't see anything from where he was, so he got out of the car.

He left Mr. Elephant behind for safety.

He didn't close the door all the way. He learned from his father that when the police didn't want to draw attention to the cars, the left the door slightly ajar as not to slam it shut. It didn't matter. No one was paying attention to him. They were all looking solemnly at the person on the ground. Some began to look like they would be sick. Even when he walked right up behind his daddy and raised his little hand to tap his shoulder, no one noticed him.

(He would note that, later, the city at the time wasn't yet known for violent crimes. So what they saw was especially shocking for such a quiet neighborhood.)

His hand hovered in mid-air as he saw what was over his father's shoulder.

So this was what gruesome looked like.

He guessed it was a synonym for _beautiful_.

There was a tarp covering the lower half of the body, pulled back for pictures and viewing. Eren was amazed that there could be so much blood inside of a person. Inside of a dainty woman like that.

Her neck was also completely severed and hanging on by a fleshy thread; blood winding in oddly pleasant patterns around her chopped neck. Her ankle twisted in an unnatural position—broken— probably from falling down the front stairs. They were deceptively steep. If the blood train was any indication, she had been suffering from minor wounds on her body as she ran down the stairs and tripped. She probably laid there. Writhing in pain trying to get up, when her assailant came and finished her off by splitting her throat. Only a huge weapon could have made a cut like that.

(It was the work of an axe, he would learn later from the police report he stole; why anyone would bring an axe to a burglary was beyond him.)

Her eyes were wide and unseeing, and Eren felt himself staring into them. She was beautiful. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark blood and all. He wanted to touch her. His eyes traveled to her gaping neck, suddenly wanting to put his hands in it and see how it felt. It looked squishy. Would it feel the same? He wanted to know. He had no idea how long he stood there, looking at the dried blood and the muscles in her neck. But in the next instant, his man behind his father was staring straight at him and swearing like a sailor.

"Fuck Jaeger, Eren's—"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before his daddy whirled around with a quickness he'd never seen and grabbed him, swearing just as badly. All eyes were on them, and he could see that everyone had a distraught took on their faces. He had no idea why. His father got him to the care quickly, sitting him down and blocking his view of the woman behind him. He felt his big hands encase his face, the cold metal of his wedding ring causing him to flinch.

"Eren." His father said softly. He only spoke like that when Eren was scared or sad. Eren was far either. In fact, he was quite happy. A little excited. His thing felt a little weird. He didn't think he should tell his father that because he had a stricken look etched on his face.

"Eren," he said in a choked voice. "How much did you see? "

Eren blinked at him. "She was dead, wasn't she?"

His father reared back as If stricken. "Yes." He said after a few moments.

"Why?" He asked.

His father patted his head. "I don't know, I'm going to figure that out, but I need to keep you to stay in the car, alright?" Eren regarded him silently. His father waited for his answer. He didn't want to stay in the car. At all. He wanted to go feel her. But his father had a tired, horrified look on his face, and he didn't refuse him.

"Okay." He said.

His father gave him a weak smile and tucked Mr. Elephant back into his arms.

Eren looked past him, seeing the tarp was back over the woman, and seeing a new body being carted off on a stretcher from out the gaping front door. Red stained the cover on top of that one too; dead, like the woman. He quietly huffed over not seeing that one. His father followed his gaze and he heard him sigh.

"Eren, "He began, but everyone in the vicinity was suddenly distracted by the sound of crying. There was shocked silence.

A female officer emerged from the front of the house, holding a little girl in his arms. She was most likely the same age as Eren; a small black haired girl with big eyes too big for her face. She was sobbing loudly, and the woman holding her raised her hands to cover her eyes as they approached the mess of her mother. Eren's father stood stiffly, a string of curses flying from his mouth. The woman made her way over to them slowly, whispering nothings and patting her head to try to quiet her. It was barely working she was hiccuping and sniffling, but at least the onslaught of tears had ceased.

"Who—"His father began.

"The daughter." She said without much feeling. Her eyes gave her away to Eren, as they were brimming with things unsaid. "We found her hiding the pantry. She said she's not hurt, but it think we should get her checked out anyway."

"Of course. Anyone else inside?"

"Not from what can tell. Where should I take her?"

"I would say an ambulance, but since we thought—there's not one here."

His father considered for a moment, and then looked back at Eren sitting with his feet dangling out of the car.

He and the woman shared a look, and then his father was saying things to the girl that he didn't care listen to. He picked at his scarf. It was sort of itchy, but his mother made it for him. He liked it. It kept him warm. He looked up when he felt the girl's shining eyes were on him. Eren could tell that his father had introduced him to her and he wasn't paying attention. He gave a little awkward nod in her direction. He was placed back in his seat and strapped him and she was set next to him.

His father was saying something else and he nodded like he was listening. But he wasn't. He was getting tired and his eyes began to drop. Maybe he would dream of the woman, as her image was seared into his eyes even when they were open. He sure hoped so.

When his father closed the door, leaving them behind in silence. She was still sniffling, and Eren felt bad for her. She must be sad, losing her mom and dad like that.

"What's your name?" He asked, tapping her arm.

She jumped a little, rubbing the spot as if she'd been burned.

"Mikasa." She said after a while.

He tested the syllables out on his tongue, mouthing it mutely. It was a nice name. He liked it.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She shot him a withering look, and then a firm: "No."

He kicked himself. No, she wouldn't be okay. She was sad. How did he make sad people feel better? He almost said his mom was gone too, but it wasn't the same. And his mother had taught him that bringing up yourself was not good to do when comforting someone else.

"How old are you?" he would just try to keep her talking so she wouldn't dwell on it. Or, worse yet, look out the window.

"Six."

"I'm five."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're little."

"No I'm not!" he said huffily. She gave a little laugh, and he prided himself on being the cause of it. Mikasa have a little shiver, and he was reminded that she only had on a night gown. She had been woken up by her father's gurgling on his own blood and her mother's screaming, after all.

He thought for a moment. His coat wasn't big enough to fit the both of them, no matter how little he was, and taking it off to give to her would just make him cold. So, he pulled off his scarf—which still smelled like his mama, but he ignored it—and looped the over-large thing around her three times. She watched him the whole time, eyes nearly overflowing, and snuggled and smelled it when he was done.

"Not cold?" he asked.

"Yes." She said quietly.

"Feel better?"

"A little."

He frowned. He wanted her to feel better a lot. What to do? He looked down at the toy in his hands. Mr. Elephant was his favorite. He always made him feel better. He patted its head and handed it over. She took it, a confused look marring her features.

"He's my best friend and he makes he feel better all the time. You keep him until you feel better. Keep the scarf until you feel warmer, too."

Her lip parted, but no sound came out.

"Thank you." She sobbed. "Thank you, Eren. I'll keep him safe for you." She said.

He held her gaze firmly. "I know."

He knew nothing else until morning. Mikasa shared his bed, and they were wrapped up in his sheets tightly. He had no idea who his father talked to, or what about, but Mikasa stayed with them until the next morning, and the morning after that. She had no one, apparently, so Eren made it his business to become her someone. And her tears dried. And he got a little taller. And they went to the same school and ate the same cereal at breakfast and fought over the orange juice. And they walked hand and hand like a family should.

And she still clutched Mr. Elephant to her chest and wrapped his scarf around herself three times in the winter months, and each time he saw it with her he decided he would wait a little longer to ask for them back.

* * *

_Then she starts to cry—mascara running down those little bambi-eyes, Oh, how I hate those eyes…._

_…_

_Sweet-sixteen and we had arrived. Running from the cops screaming "Get us while we're hot, get us while we're hot!"_

* * *

**Four Months Before**

"So you like Sasha?" Eren asked Connie on the way to math one day. He laughed when Connie made a huge show of covering his mouth and shaking his head.

"You ass! Don't yell it out loud! "He hissed. Eren was tempted to lick his palm, but didn't. Connie raised an eyebrow, silently asking is Eren would say anymore on the subject. Eren shrugged.

The school year had nearly just began, but their school left no day carefree, and no student underworked. They thought it would be simpler now that they were seniors. No dice. They already had ass loads of work to do and it only been three weeks. Every student that wandered these halls couldn't wait until the break started.

When Connie deemed it safe, he moved his hands and made Eren swear to talk in a lower voice.

"But you've known each other since you were kids," Eren said, "Why not just tell her? I'm sure she cares for you. And I didn't yell." He added.

Connie sneered at him. "Because she likes you, dumbass. You with your pretty green eyes and your bad-boy image."

Eren raised an eyebrow at him mockingly. "Her words or yours?" he asked.

"Fuck you!" Connie flicked him off, much to Eren's amusement.

They came to, and sat, in math in silence.

Connie missed the odd, faraway look Eren shot him before they entered.

The hour-thirty dragged slowly, and Eren felt himself getting bored. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket near the end of the period.

A message from Connie, with only one word: "Mine."

His face screwed up in confusion. It took him a while to understand the meaning, and then—

Connie got tease him later when he got detention for looking at his phone and laughing loudly in the middle of class.

* * *

**Six Years Before**

His first kill was at age twelve.

He agonized over it. It was so wrong. He was a kid. He shouldn't fantasize over matters like this. But he did. He dreamed of blood and guts and gore. He wanted to see what everyone held inside of them. Red was his favorite color, and humans had loads of it packed under their skin. The thoughts clawed at him at the worst times, in the darkest hours. But in the end, he decided to go through with it. He put on an innocent child act; it wasn't hard at the time, with his overly round, expressive eyes and his boyish face. He lured in a pretty woman on the first try. It was on a lonely street in the dark of night. A woman like her, chatting away on her cellphone in skyscraper heels shouldn't have been out that time of night by herself. Neither should he. At least she wouldn't be making the same mistake again.

He ran to her from an alleyway he knew well. He scoped it out long before now. There was a dead end on the left, and on the right lead out to another street, making the alley into a 'T' shape. He thought it was perfect. The left end couldn't been seen from the street, and the right had enough depth that the streetlights couldn't penetrate it.

Eren carried a kitchen knife—a serrated, old thing that he was sure hadn't been used in years— in his back pocket. He didn't have much money, and he only decided in the morning that he was going to carry out in fantasy.

She closed her phone after a rushed goodbye, listening to his hurried words about a made up friend that was injured in the alley. She followed him willingly, her blues eyes shimmering with pity and worry. He purposely dressed in ratty clothing, making himself seem like some dirty urchin. Her heels clicked on the asphalt as she walked. His heart beat in time with her footfalls. He was too calm, he recognized, to be about to take another's life. His pulse was steady and his palms were dry. Too calm, too calm. He was scaring himself. Where was the fear he felt before? Where had it gone?

They were at the crossroads of the alley. He had set up a trash bag to sit like a slumped person. Her breath was coming out in puffs now, from her haste. She pulled him from his thoughts by pointing to the right side of the alley.

"Here?" She asked. "Is he over here?"

He looked down that alley for one second. Two seconds. Three.

"No," he said, "He's right there."

She turned to the left and took two steps towards his decoy.

He slipped the knife into her back without another word.

It took more effort than he thought it would. Maybe he didn't have enough strength in his young body. He jammed it into her hunched back. He watched her jerk forward, a pained noise escaping her lips. Her head swiveled, eyes wide, as she feel onto her hands and knees.

"Wha—"

This time he raised his arm instead of jabbing forward, curving it and embedding the knife in her shoulder. She screamed and lurched forward again. He took a stolen dish cloth from his pocket and stuffed it in her mouth. Even though she was a grown woman, and her strength would have exceeded his, she was hurt and disoriented. The woman kept trying to turn herself out her back, no doubt going to attempt to raise her hands to protect her face from his blows. She rolled and raised her hands, a muffled scream pushed past the cloth as the grooved knife cut through her palms like rice paper. He never knew that skin was so thin, so fragile. It excited him. Eren quickened his strikes. He was hitting so fast that blood began to splash back onto him. She was gurgling on her own blood so much that he was surprised she was still alive. It began to make him angry, her survival. Why wouldn't she die already? Every time he made contact now he dragged the knife downward, carving into her. Deeper, deeper, deeper! His mind screamed at him. He felt a smile curve on his face as the light fled from her eyes. She never got another word out.

Eren stopped, panting with exhaustion.

She was a mess. Nothing more than a giant wound. He stared at her for a few moments, the only sounds alive where the common hums of the night and his heavy breathing. She was more beautiful than ever. The red highlighted her blond hair. He reached a steady hand down to caress her face. Sticky. He smiled. He felt the blood on his hands, holding it up to his eyes in the light. He covered his face with his soaked hand, sniffing deeply.

"Beautiful. Wonderful." He whispered to himself.

But he wasn't done.

He wanted to know what her insides looked like. How she was put together. Eren had cut her in the stomach a few times, but none were big enough to fit his hand in. He'd have to fix that. He breathed, slicing a deep gash into her middle. He admired his handiwork. Next time—he determined that there would indeed be a next time—he would bring a straight blade instead of one with grooves. It marred her skin too much; he didn't like it. It left the skin too jagged and bloody for him to see. Next time he would definitely do better.

He had a large enough hole to fit his hand though. It was in the lower stomach. He grasped something long; it must have been her small intestine. It had an interesting feeling to it, while slick and saturated with blood. He squeezed, savoring the loud squelch that was released. Eren shivered and moved his hand around. His sleeve was heavy and dark, and the little bit of light that was present wasn't enough for him to see what he was doing anymore. He didn't care. He wouldn't stop. Her guts felt so good.

And then Levi was there.

(Of course, at the time, he didn't know him as Levi, or Rivaille, or anything for that matter.) He only knew him as a boy, not much older than himself, leaning against the wall behind him smoking a cigarette and chuckling softly behind it.

Eren's hand gripped mutely at his blade. Maybe his next time would come quicker than he thought. He jerked his hand out regrettably—he would make sure to explore the entrails of this one while the night was still young. He would take his time too.

That is, until he turned around.

In that instant, even in the darkness, he was able to see him clearly. And just like that, he knew this man would be a permanent part of his life. From the cut of his hair, the intensity of his eyes and the curve of his lips, he knew. Eren shivered in…something. He didn't think he would get to see eyes like that in a city like this, unless he was looking in the mirror. This man's aura buzzed of danger—of deep, dark things unseen. It permeated into Eren's skin and left him feeling slightly…frightened. Eren didn't get scared, certainly not of other people. But this wasn't a normal person; people like him didn't appear in this world very often. This man—was calling him a man even right? He saw a demon. He saw the devil in him, far more than he saw in himself, and he loved it.

"Sorry," Came a somewhat deep timbre that had Eren shaking like a goddamn tuning fork. "For interrupting, but I hate when people make a mess."

Eren blinked owlishly at him. "What?"

He barely caught the forceful eye-roll in the heavy darkness. "You," He said, pointing at Eren's chest, "Made a mess. Carved her up right good. You can't show her like this. Shame."

More blinking. "What?"

"You stink of inexperience. It's gross. What's the point of killing if you don't show anyone?" Levi flicked his spent cigarette to the ground, crushing it as he took quiet step after step in Eren's direction. "On second thought, don't answer that. What's your name, kid?" He switches gears quickly, Eren thought.

"Eren."

"Spelled with an 'A' or an 'E'?"

"An 'E'."

"Ah."

They watched each other, and Levi smirked when Eren looked away under his scrutiny after mere moments.

"Rivaille."

"Huh?" He asked, looking back to him.

Another hard eye-roll. "My name. But you may call me Levi."

"Um, okay. "

"Don't make that face, it's a privilege that not many get." Eren raised an eyebrow.

"A privilege?"

"Damn straight."

Who did he think he was?

Eren wanted to have a snappy retort, but he was confused. Why were they exchanging pleasantries like he hadn't just murdered a woman in cold blood? What the hell? This guy—Levi, his mind supplied—couldn't be that used to death that he barely blinked at finding a pre-teen boy with his hand inside a woman's stomach on the street, could he? That was…interesting, to say the least. Eren casually wondered what he killed like—He decided in that moment that he had to be a killer, and a much more skilled one than him at that—and what he did so he wouldn't make a "mess", as he said.

He was startled when a flashlight was suddenly in his face. Even more so when long piano-fingers were sliding into his hair and tipping his head back.

"Huh." Levi grunted with seemingly genuine surprise. "You're cute."

Eren blinked at him again. "What?"

Levi narrowed his eyes. "Stop saying that. You heard me. You're cute. I thought you would be hideous. Maybe like Quasimodo. But now I see that you're cute, which makes this even better. How old are you, brat?"

Eren bristled at being 'cute' and a 'brat' in one breath, but he answered anyway. "Twelve." Levi tsk'ed in slight…disappointment?

"Ah, I was hoping younger." He said with a sad shake of his head. "More time to teach you would be better. You're short for your age." He added.

Eren glared. "You're one to talk." He retorted. Then he thought about his words. "Wait, teach me?"

Levi leveled him with a disappointed stare. Like he already missed something he was supposed to catch on to in their short exchange. "Naturally, You. Suck." He said, punctuating the words. "You'll be caught up in no time. You need discipline, and lucky for you, I'm in the market for a disciple."

"Thanks, but no thanks." He said before he could stop himself. What the fuck are you doing? He asked himself.

"Oh no, you've misunderstood, It wasn't a request." Levi said with a destructive smile and eyes harder than stone.

Eren jerked in surprise. What? "What."

The hand in his hair tightened. "Look, Eren," He was a goddamn tuning fork again at the mention of his name. "I'll put it in words that your one-pubed mind can understand. I like your face. I like that you kill. I even like that your eyes are really fucking green. So before any other sick fuck snatches you up, I'm staking a claim. Be flattered, I actually think you can be something. None of these other two-bit slashers had the guts to do what you did at such a young age, and I'm fairly impressed. But like I said, you suck. Someone will have to teach you patience and good cleanliness habits. And that someone is me."

Eren was about to say what again, but he decided against it. He was afraid that if he did, he would get yelled at and possibly have his hair tugged right out of his head. He didn't want to be double-dared. It didn't mean that this made sense, though. Who the hell did he think he was? Eren didn't bow down to anyone, especially not someone that looked to be sixteen at the most. One-pubed? What the fuck was he, ten? No. Hell no. Fuck no. Fuck this. He realized that his knife was on the ground behind him; he could easily jerk out of his hold and end him right here. Like it would be that easy. He mustered up his strongest death glare—which left most people running from the hills—but Levi remained unfazed.

"And if I refuse?"

Rivaille let out a short, unamused laugh. "I don't know how you keep misunderstanding me—will I have to teach you the basics of English too?—No, for you to be able to refuse, I would have to ask you something. I did not. I said, you're coming with me, and that's that. As of this moment, you're mine. Mine to mold, mine to shape, mine to—"He sighed, looking Eren up and down. "That will come later. Anyway, when I see something I like I take it. Or I kill it."

He dropped the flashlight and seized Eren's chin with the same hand. "So either I help you learn to be like me or I leave you in a puddle of your own blood right here in this alley. The choice is yours." Levi smiled sweetly at him.

"What gives you the right—?"

"I own this city." He said emotionlessly, in a way making Eren shut his mouth. "And I own the shadows. You could even call me the King of them. As it so happens, my dear boy, you just stepped into one. So now I own you." Levi's eyes were so serious, so dark and deep with things Eren didn't understand, that he stood stock-still. Transfixed. He thought for a moment. No one else had claimed the title, as far as he knew. Levi seemed like a hardcore, all-in kind of guy. He looked as if he knew tons of things, things that Eren's mind hadn't even thought of. Being under the guidance of the King of shadows? Not too bad for his first try.

"Alright, fine." He said. Levi didn't seem surprised in the least. He smirked maliciously at him. "I'm yours, then?"

"Damn straight."

And from that moment he didn't remember anything else.

It was all a blur from there. Somehow, in the next couple of nights and weeks he ended up exploring the night with Levi—dodging his father's sharp eyes and Mikasa's even sharper ones— and learning under Levi's tutelage.

Levi liked to hunt.

He rarely killed people quickly. Sometimes, if the mood suited him, he would ease behind someone without a sound—

(Eren, to this day never understood how he could be this quiet and agile like some sort of cat. Levi never had a concrete answer for him and would always laugh quietly whenever Eren brought it up in slight jealousy of him.)

—and slit their throat. But for the most part, he liked to plan. He had a frozen warehouse where he kept bodies stored. The first time he took Eren there, he was sure he had never been so hard in his life. It was glorious. He kept them all elevated on meat-hooks with cuts on their ankles so they could bleed into buckets on the floor below them. Eren thought it was creative. Levi would cut out their organs—the heart, the brain, the liver, and the genitalia were his favorites—and then sow them back up with thick, red thread and put them on display all over the city. He also had a giant tarp over the ground to keep the blood off his nice, clean floor. One which he hosed down every week with a bonnet and latex gloves on.

He was an exhibitionist. 'What's the point of killing if you can't show anyone?' He had said. It made sense now. Eren thought it would be fun to see if people were maybe on a stroll in the park of riding their bike and happened to see a bloodless, seamed body. He quite liked the idea. Levi, of course, did too.

Not to mention that they both had an affinity for fire. They liked to burn things, and people. They couldn't do it as often as they would have liked—fire always attracts attention—but whenever they got the chance, Eren would mirror Levi's look of wild abandon and uncontainable excitement, then he take Levi's hand willingly so they could run through the shadows together.

Fire made them closer.

In those days, somehow Eren went from disliking Levi, to admiring him immensely, to being downright in love with him. Being gay didn't surprise him as much as being a murderer did, so he took it in stride. Besides, didn't Levi think he was…cute?

"Yeah, I did." Levi said when he asked.

Eren tried to mask his hurt.

He failed.

"So you don't think I'm cute anymore?" He words sounded strange to his own ears, but he didn't waiver.

Levi hit him with his famous eye-roll. "Fuck, kid, don't look at me with those eyes—didn't I tell you I like the fact that your eyes are really fucking green? — At least let me wait until you hit high school to start touching you. You're killing me, here."

Eren laughed and he was content.

**Four Months Before. **

He comforted Sasha while she cried over Connie's disappearance.

The school held a candlelight vigil for him. Everyone in their grade showed up. He was a good kid. He deserved it. He deserved to live. All of his friends were distraught, and secretly, he was too. He didn't like to cause those close to him pain. Or himself. But he knew what he had to do. Nothing to get in his way, not now, and certainly no one could either.

Annie said nothing on the matter. Not at lunch, or in math, or in the hall. Nowhere. But she knew. And he knew it. The secret smiles always pissed him off. The anger would subside when after a while the smiles faded, and he would notice her gazing into space, or when her eyes would unconsciously wander to the empty seat next to her at lunch. He couldn't be angry when the edges of her eyes would crinkle in sorrow and her eyes would drift to her lap silently. No, he couldn't be angry at all.

Armin's eyes were red more than once when he would come to school. He would sniffle sometimes throughout class, and the shallow-dark bags under his eyes indicated that he was losing sleep. Eren would make his way to his house rub his back in the dead of night when Armin would be nearly hysterical with grief. He would feel his friend breaking more and more, even as he told him that everything would be okay.

Mikasa made a point to keep Connie's desk and seat at the lunch table free. She knew as well as he did that it wouldn't be filled again by him, but he didn't comment.

Marco ran himself ragged with worry too, ringing his hands together until they were hurting. Once, and only once, he said what they all were thinking.

"It's like Jean all over again."

He closed his eyes and prayed after that, and everyone was silent. And Eren knew, just like Jean, they would never hear from Connie again.

Levi was a master at hiding bodies, living or dead, after all.

* * *

_The prettiest little in crowd that you had ever seen. Ribbons in her hair and her eyes gleamed mean. A freshman generation of degenerate beauty-queens._

_…_

_Just stay where I can see you douse the lights. We sure are in for a show tonight!_

_(Stay where I can see you—!)_

* * *

**One Year Before**

Eren appreciated his normal friends. He valued those that didn't function like him. Like Armin. Armin was an angel in disguise. Armin knew how to put a smile on his face that wouldn't end up with someone dead. With his innocent, blond friend, he had a view on what a regular teenager should be like. They talked about the weather, and schoolwork, and TV shows, and if Armin finally got the courage to talk to the girl he liked. That would be a no. Eren never remembered the girl's name no matter how hard he listened because he just felt she wasn't right for a guy like Armin. She wanted too many material things, too much attention. She was a heartbreaker, and if she hurt someone as precious as Armin, he would break her.

(This is why he didn't get involved in his friends' relationships often; his possessiveness and protectiveness got people killed.)

And then there was someone like Annie. She was not…normal, in so many words, but she hadn't murdered anyone. Purposely, anyway. Kidding. Not really. Anyway, Annie talked to him however she liked. She was blunt, reserved, and sort of angry. Which reminded him of Levi. That's probably why he liked her so much.

But he was pretty sure that she knew what he did.

She always had these odd, contemplative stares and secret smiles that she gave him when she thought he wasn't looking. But he noticed them out of the sides of his eyes. He wondered if she would ever tell. Probably not. He never got much out of her, but he knew that Annie had a story of her own. If she was ever ready to tell him, he would be waiting.

He had a handful of other friends too. Like Marco, Connie, and Sasha. Sometimes, even Reiner. But he was a senior that became a little too cool for them, so not so much anymore. He was never much of a people person—he could count the number of people he called just to spend time with instead of just when he needed something on one hand— which was weird because people flocked to him no matter how rude or mean he could be. He appreciated their normalcy, too. They got him through his life in the daytime.

But then there was fucking Jean.

Eren did not consider him a friend. Just someone that hung around them by his own decision. Connie liked him, and so did Armin, and Marco, and Sasha. And sometimes, even Reiner. Mikasa and Annie, as always, didn't care either way. So he had to put up with him quite a bit. But even though Eren made it very clear that he only did so because his friends were fond of him, Jean didn't get that. He went out of his way to bother Eren, saying stupid, corny shit like:

"Hey man, how's the dirt down there?"

(Implying that he was short. That was a new one. He had never been called short at this age. Jean just liked to make the point that he was smaller than him. Seriously, the dumbass needed to see Levi before he called him short again (He was normal-sized, dammit!); Levi's a twenty-one year old man.)

Or:

"What's that on your—Oh wait, that is your face!"

(And then he would fucking laugh and Eren was so fucking glad that Mikasa had persuaded him into not bring a knife to school. But there were always pencils….)

And so on.

It took Annie's not-to-gentle wording, after two years of the group having to listen to their back and forth, to figure out that Jean probably liked him and wanted to get his attention any way that he could.

("Just shut up about him and let him fuck you already, Eren. If he asks me what you favorite color is again, I'm going to kill him before you ever get the chance to." She said with a pointed look. )

(She definitely knew.)

(Shit.)

He still didn't believe it. Jean was…Jean. Eren didn't see him that way. The only person he saw like that was Levi. He never thought it strange that he was not sexually attracted to anyone but him. Everyone else was just…there. He tried to see Jean as a man instead of as an annoying fuck, but it barely worked.

His smile was nice. He had soft hair.

But he's fucking corny, Eren. Huge turn off.

Then Jean started to act oddly. He didn't see him around like he used to. Everyone was surprised when he didn't demand to be Eren's partner in Science or try to "slyly" ask for his help in English. Eren found it peaceful while everyone else found it strange. But he also knew that more than anyone, peace never lasts.

Jean came to him after class one day, when Eren was cleaning up. He didn't have to turn to know it was him. He always barreled in with the noise of a thousand buffalo. He just stood there. Jean didn't seem too keen on talking, so Eren ignored him. When he grabbed his bag, threw it over his shoulder, and went to leave, Jean grabbed his arm. Eren tugged to get away but Jean's words stilled him.

"I know about you." He said in a voice Eren didn't think he was capable of. Gravely serious was a good look on Jean, but he pushed the thought away. He was ninety percent sure he knew what he meant by it, but he played dumb and asked anyway.

"What?"

The grip on his arm tightened. Why did everybody like to grab him? "Don't." He whispered. "Just fucking don't, Jaeger." Using his last name? Old boy was serious.

Eren went to speak, but Jean was quicker. He pushed him against the wall and held him there. Eren felt his eyes narrow. Dangerous ground. He didn't like being threatened. If he really knew about him then he should fucking know that this was a bad idea.

(You're going to wish you, never had met me… at all.)

"Jean—"he said in warning.

"I saw you and your boyfriend," Jean continued as if he hadn't spoke, and hissed the word boyfriend like it was acid on his tongue. "I saw you drag a lady into a car. And then you drove off. You killed her, didn't you?"

Ah. Maybe he knew more than he thought.

"I always knew there was something about you, Eren," He went on." I couldn't figure it out. But I knew—I knew you were like me somehow. I just knew it!" His eyes were lit with excitement now, not anger.

What?

"What?"

"I didn't know how to say anything to you, after that. I wasn't supposed to be there, anyway. I had some shady dealings—but it's not important—you don't know how that made me feel Eren, to see you do something like that. Once I got my emotions in check, I knew I could breathe easy around you. Around a fellow—"

"Have you done it, yet?" Eren asked suddenly.

Jean blinked at him, and then his brow furrowed. "What?"

Eren lowered his voice. "Have you killed someone yet?" Jean looked away.

"Well, no, not yet—"

"Then we're not fucking alike." He said cruelly, trying to drive the point home. Jean was notoriously thick headed. "No, don't look at me like that. I know what you're going to say to me: "I've done it in my head a million times." So has everyone else in the world. And then you'll say something about how you've struggled about it, about the dark thoughts you've had, and how hard it was to come to terms with it. Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'm not a shoulder to cry on, but I digress." Jean's lips parted slowly and his eyes crinkled in pain. But his grip didn't up and it was beginning to piss Eren off.

"We're not alike, okay? I don't have time for someone that just fantasizes shit. I'm in way too deep for that." What was it about this city that made everyone so insane? The so call peace it boasted about? Genetics? Was something in the water? Probably.

He pulled away successfully this time, but right before he slipped out of the room, Jean grabbed him again—this time around his middle—and whispered in his ear:

"Come with me tonight, I'll show you."

ǂǁǂ

Jean, as he used to be, was messy. He was too happy with his blade, slashing up all the good parts. That wouldn't do; he and Levi wouldn't be able to make art out of this poor soul later. What a waste. Jean was panting, eyes alight, and nearly salivating at the mouth as he worked. Eren rolled his eyes about as hard as he could from his position on the wall behind him. Was this how Rivaille saw him at first? Bouncing in excitement with a rampant boner? He blushed at the thought. Had he been hard at that time? Yeah. He had. Good lord, what had Levi seen in him?

Jean stood up, admiring what he'd just done. He turned to Eren, grinning and holding his knife like a prize. If Eren squinted hard enough, he might have looked cute in the dying light while covered in someone else's blood. He was smiling in a way that said: "See? I told you I could do it!"

Eren gazed at him, uninterested, arms folded in front of him. "Are you done?" He asked. Jean nodded obediently. Eren pushed off the wall, reaching down to get the change of clothes for Jean that he stored in his bag, when he was pushed up against the wall, again.

"Jean, if you manhandle me again one more fucking time today, I swear to god I'm going to—"He began angrily. He was cut off by a deep groan. He paused, looking into Jean's half-lidded eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

"I'm so hard right now." Jean moaned out, resting his forehead against his chest.

Eren froze.

Ah.

Well.

And then Jean kissed him.

There was no grand…anything, really. He felt the pressure of something against his lips, but it didn't really excite him. Didn't make him shake or shiver. Didn't make his toes curl. He just really wanted to huff and push him off. He could fell Jean poking him down below. Honestly, it was weird to have someone else other than Levi touch him. He didn't like it.

But he didn't fight it.

He knew that this was about, why he didn't kick Jean in the dick and storm off. Because he was being neglected lately. Levi hadn't the time for him like before, since he was splitting his time between full-time work and their hunts. There was no time for just the two of them; No cuddling, or reading together, and definitely no sex. It bummed him out. So he wasn't sure how to act to another male's attention. The act itself didn't make him feel anything, but the parts of him that loved love and affection were reacting violently.

Jean began dragging him back to his car. Eren let himself be dragged. He was too caught up in his own thoughts to react. It really could not be normal that he only reacted to Levi's touch. That was insane. But then again, he was kind of insane anyway. That was kind of the point, wasn't it? He shouldn't be attached to just him. Or maybe it was just Jean. Yeah. That was probably it. He knew Jean. Stupid, annoying, corny Jean. This didn't seem like Jean at all. He didn't know the Jean that liked him. He didn't like that, either.

While he was off in the clouds, Jean had somehow collected their stuff—actually smart enough not to leave anything behind, surprise, surprise—and drove him to a house nearby. Eren had no idea what he was doing. Why was he going with him? He knew what Jean wanted. Would he go through with it, even though he felt nothing?

"Eren," Jean groaned as he threw Eren onto the bed. Eren bounced a little and stared at the ceiling.

"What?"

"Eren, talk to me." He begged.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked, looking at him. Jean was flushed and panting. He began to strip off both of their clothes. Eren was a little pissed that Jean got blood all over him from not changing earlier, but he didn't mention it.

"Tell me this is okay." Jean said, eyes searching.

It's not. "I'm not going to let you fuck me." He said instead. Jean's eyes flared with something akin to disappointment, but he nodded.

"Okay." He said after awkward silence. "Can I at least touch you?" He asked.

No. "Yeah."

Jean attacked him like a man starved. It was in those moments that Eren realized he had no idea where he was—who knows if this was Jean's house or not— or what the hell he was doing. Was he just doing this to prove to himself that Levi didn't own him in every way possible? That he had it in him to seek something other than just an occasional quickie or a few exchanged text messages? It would be nice to have someone that would value him. He and Jean were the same age, in the same classes. They would see each other a lot. What on earth was he thinking? That was a stupid reason to throw away everything he had. Was it?

Eren stared up lifelessly as Jean continued to lick his neck and ears. He nibbled on Eren's ears and Eren bit back a sigh. He had never been that sensitive in those places, it was more his—

He jerked when Jean flattened his tongue over one of his nipples, and let out a tiny, little hiss between his teeth. Shit. Bad place. Hurry up and move on—

Jean looked up in surprise, probably at getting even the barest reaction out of him. He did it again, this time rewarded with a louder noise from the back of Eren's throat. He seemed to be encouraged, because he began running his hands down his sides, sucking and nipping at his chest. He felt him up like he never touched another body before. Eren felt his virginity though his fingertips, but was surprised that the inexperience wasn't bothering him. That was a lie, it was bothering him a little, but it wasn't too bad. Besides, Jean seemed to catch on quickly to what he liked a disliked. Eren shuddered when Jean rubbed against him experimentally, short pants escaping through his clenched teeth. Huh. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe Jean had to work incredibly hard to get past the onion-like layers of Levi in his brain, and the deeper-still coatings that were etched into his skin.

Jean was getting impatient, wanting more, but at least Eren was hard now. They bumped against each other though their pants as Jean kept working him up, and they both swore colorfully. Jean wrestled them out of them, staring down at Eren when he was completely nude. It was somewhat dark in the room, and Eren could see a slight sheen of sweat glitter off of Jean's chest. Eren was throwing logic to the wind; he was bothered now and he wanted some gratification, dammit.

"Can I—?"

"No." Eren said firmly.

"Then—?"

"No."

"What can I do?" Jean asked exasperatedly.

Eren wanted to roll his eyes. "Hump me, you idiot. Don't just fucking look at it." He didn't think he would have to detail almost-sex to a seventeen year old boy. Jesus.

(Eren was terrible at denying others what they wanted when he could tell their emotions were genuine. Even if it did not benefit him, he was weak against it. A point Levi and he always disagreed on. He couldn't deny anything, Levi could deny everything.)

He groaned when Jean laid over him, and shut his eyes tightly when Jean encased the both of them with his big hands. Eren spread his legs (The only thing he gave back during the night) so that Jean would have more room to work. Jean went to kiss him again, and Eren didn't stop him. Kind of intimate, his mind whispered. He ignored it. They moaned against each other's mouths.

_Building, building, building—_

"Shit!" Eren yelled when he was there; he nearly head-butted Jean in the process. He sank back into the bed, catching his breath. Jean followed soon after and collapsed on top of him. He felt sticky, and spent, and_ fucking guilty beyond all belief oh my god._

Jean smirked lazily into his neck. Eren felt a little pinches there. He moved away when he felt Jean starting to suck. Did he fucking just—

He froze mid-thought when he felt a slick hand trail down the place beyond his balls. He shut his eyes tight against the pleasure, and blurted out the only thing he could think of before he let things get too far:

"He'll_ literally_ kill you, Jean. You have to stop!"

Don't you mean we, Jaeger?

Jean looked up. "What?" Eren scowled at him and pushed him off. He dragged on the spares he brought for Jean, overlooking that the clothes were a little big and he had to roll up the sleeves and the legs, and turned to glare at Jean who hadn't moved.

"My boyfriend, remember? Or did you manage to forget?"_ I certainly did_.

Jean scoffed huffily. "I'm not afraid of him." Eren wanted to cry. Dammit, why was he gay? He would never escape male pride and false bravado.

"You should be! I should be. I fucking am! I'm sure you want to give up the ghost with a little more effort than that?! You really want to fucking die for fucking the most dangerous man in the city's man?" he began to pace. "Seriously Jean, this never happened!"

Jean watched him move back and forth across the floor for a while, as Eren tore his hair out and thought of good lies as to where he was instead of here.

"Eren." Jean said softly. Again, in a voice Eren hadn't thought possible for him. Low and sincere. "I care about you."

And what about it! "I know, okay?" He snapped.

"And I want to be with you."

Eren shook his head and laughed humorlessly. "It's too late, Jean. There's no part of me that doesn't belong to him for you to have."

(He still isn't sure who was more stricken by that statement, even now.)

He left without another word.

ǂǁǂ

He went home. That was logical. Mikasa already covered for him being out all night. His father didn't question him. He thought he was having a sleepover at Armin's. He must have thought they were too old to still have those, but he didn't question it. He was to see Levi the next night. He couldn't blow it off; that would be too weird. Not when he was always excited to be able to see him. Not when they hadn't had much time together lately. He never canceled plans with him. Never. But he was thinking he should really start, but not now.

He came at the appointed time, jittery the whole damn time as he stood outside the door. Levi was taking longer than he should to open it, or maybe he was just paranoid. He felt like Levi already knew. Like he was watching him from some secret security camera and getting off on his squirming. They both nursed some pretty weird kinks. Just when Eren was about to bolt, he got a text saying that the door was open. He walked in.

The smell of chicken hit him full force, and his stomach instantly growled. He hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday, and the thought of Levi's cooking made his mouth water. Until he sunk back to the lowest depths of despair. Fuck.

"Hey." Levi greeted as he stepped into the kitchen. He didn't turn around and Eren was glad for it. Levi would only have to take one look at Eren's guilty face and he was sure there would be a shiny meat hook with his name on it.

"Hey." He echoed.

Levi stirred some tea on the counter. "Food's on the table."

He was being a little distant, and Eren didn't like it. He didn't pay attention to him if he needed to. He narrowed his eyes at Levi's back. He looked down at the food. Looked good. Only one plate. So he already ate? He could have at least waited, since he knew he was coming. Eren tried not to feel put out, but he was failing miserably. He ate in silence, save for the sound of the metal spoon hitting the sides of the mug.

This was all they did recently. Don't get him wrong, he knew that things had to change when people got older, but he didn't like being downright ignored. He felt like he was acting like a brat. Levi had a job after all. He was an adult. He never felt their age difference as much as he did now.

He ate slowly.

Tomorrow was a Saturday, so he could stay over. But it would only mean getting up early to join Levi on his morning run.

When he dropped his fork, Levi seemed to snap out of it, picking up his mug—and book—moving across from the counter to sit across from him.

Ah.

He was reading, that's why he was distracted.

You need to calm down, Eren.

"What did you do yesterday?" Eren's head jerked up. Levi was staring at him now, eyebrows raised in humor. Then Levi's eyes changed for split second—into something strange and unrecognizable—and then, normal once more. What was that?

Yes, Eren, that's calm. You're doing great.

"Went over a friend's house." He tried to sound casual. He guessed it worked, because Levi looked down at the book and begins absently stirring again.

"Uh huh. What did you do?" He asked.

"Played video games." He lies easily. It's easier when he's not being stared at, to lie. They played alright.

"Have fun?" He asked.

Eren thought back, seeing himself moaning and groaning while Jean was on top of him. "Yeah." He said.

Levi stopped stirring.

"You did?" He said, eyes nearly black. Eren flinched, feeling as though he should push away from the table and run as fast as he could. "I'm guessing, from that hickey on your neck." He said coolly. One second of tense, shocked silence. . Two seconds. Three.

Levi had him pinned to the floor before he could blink.

Shit! He'd forgotten. He'd been so caught up with fabricating a story and guilt yesterday that by the time he got home, he'd totally forgotten about when Jean bit him. How had he missed it when he was showering or dressing? He should have put a Band-Aid over it and say he was stung by a bee, if he was thinking. Fuck.

"Rivaille—"he tried. The grip on neck was already tight, but it became unbearable when he tried to speak.

"Don't you fucking 'Rivaille' me!" He seethed in his face. Eren couldn't breathe. Fuck he was scared. Levi never hurt him. He didn't like this. God, he fucked up. "I'm this close to snapping your neck! What did he do to you?!" Eren didn't have enough breath to answer. He started choking, the pressure was becoming too much, as Levi squeezed with every word he spoke.

"Ah—"

Levi shook him while still holding his neck. He was in trouble. Levi was barely here anymore, that's how livid he was. His eyes were so big and his breath was coming so fast that Eren was worried for half a second that he would hurt himself. Then he had mind to worry about his damn self.

"Did you fuck him? Or did you let him fuck you?" He punctuated every word. "Answer me! Who was it? Huh? **Who?**! Dammit Eren, **_Dis-moi_**!"

Eren's vision was swimming. He tried to claw at Levi's hand but to no avail. He started to see little black spots at the edge of his vision. Damn, was he going to die like this, without a chance to explain? If the way Levi was nearly frothing at the mouth and his nails were drawing blood from Eren's neck, be guessed so. Some part of him always knew that he was going to die before his time, Levi would be the one to do it. He hadn't expected it to be because of this. Was that terribly sad or terribly romantic?

Sad. Definitely fucking sad.

Suddenly, he caught the sight of big, bare feet above him.

"He could tell you if you weren't cutting off his air supply, Rivaille." Said Erwin in a firm, quiet tone. "That's enough, let him go."

He forgot that Erwin was here. Thank god.

"Leave." Levi said, deathly calm while staring at his brother. Erwin stared right back. At least while Erwin was present, Levi's hand eased up a little, but it wasn't enough to suck all the air back into his greedy lungs. "This is not your business."

"I'd say it is, when I boy I happen to be fond of is slowly dying on the floor because my brother can't control his temper. I'd say it is." Erwin's eyes were narrow beyond belief, and his body was basically strumming with anger. Levi wasn't fairing much better. He'd become incredible still, eyes still wild and wide from adrenaline and hair hanging in his face. He looked every bit a beast. Unstable. Uncontrolled. Of course Eren would be one to push her closer to the edge, after all this time. Eren wouldn't been surprised if he bared his teeth soon.

"You're going to kill him." He added softly when Levi didn't let go.

"Good." He shot back. Erwin took a step closer, but did not touch him. He was smarter than that. He'd been dealing with Levi much longer than Eren had. Much longer than anyone had.

Erwin sighed. "Nobody wants that, and you know it."

"I beg to differ."

They stared again. Once second. Five Seconds. Ten. And then, finger by finger, Levi let go.

Eren coughed immediately, chest heaving as are torn back into his body. He turned onto his side, not quite able to look either of them in the eye.

"Good, you saved him." Levi said after Eren's breathing calmed down. "Now get out. We're having a private discussion."

There was no room for debate.

Erwin looked at Eren, nodding to him silently. Eren nodded back. He would just scream if he needed help again, that is, if Levi gave him the chance. Only if need be. He didn't think Levi would attack him again, but that didn't mean he wasn't shaken. Levi never—He'd seen those eyes before, many times, but they were never directed at him. He caught a sob before it escaped, smothering it. Eren collected himself and tried to cease his shaking. Erwin gave him a look a pity and retreated from the kitchen.

He probably hadn't heard the conversation then, if he could still look at him like that.

They listened for his footfalls on the stairs, craning to hear him open and close his door, and the creaks of his movements above them. Eren made no move to rise, so Levi grabbed his fallen chair and spun it face him. He sat, crossing one leg over the other and clasping his hands.

For many moments, they sat in silence.

"How far did you go?" He asked again in a much calmer tone. Eren looked up, trying not to flinch away from the cold abyss he saw in those eyes.

"He kissed me." Eren muttered shakily. Levi nodded stiffly.

"And he gave you a hickey." Not a question.

"And he gave me hickey." He echoed.

"He kissed you on that mouth." Again, not a question.

"Yes."

"That mouth that belongs to me."

"Yes, Levi." Levi set his jaw, probably to keep from screaming something.

"What else?"

"He touched me."

"Where?"

This was so awkward. "My chest. My legs. My arms. My sides."

"What else?" Levi was flying though them with the clinical precision of a surgeon, making a mental checklist in his head. His voice was flat about each question and it made Eren want to sink into the floor.

He might just hurt him, Eren, if he gets a name out of you. But if you say any more, Jean will die. He'll die. Don't tell him. Lie.

"Nothing."

Levi fixed him with a frigid stare. "Are you lying to me, Eren?" He asked testily. The 'again' hung in the space between.

Eren whined in the back of this throat. "I'm done lying to you." He said steadily, tiredly. But he wasn't. He was more awake than he'd ever been.

Levi watched him for a long while, and Eren held himself still under his scrutinizing gaze. Eventually Levi nodded, although still stiff.

"Alright. I believe you. Now tell me his name."

"What are you doing to do —"

"Don't worry about it." Levi said quickly.

"Levi—"He pleaded.

"You think I'm going to let this go? Do you really think so, Eren?" Eyes flashing, he stood. "I told you, that you were mine. Mine to shape, mine to teach, mine to fuck, and mine to have. I don't like when people but their dirty little hands on what's mine. So I'll ask one more time. What is his name?"

Eren looked at the floor.

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Something was cracking. Something carefully constituted and skillfully grown between them. Eren grasped at it unsuccessfully. Too late, too late.

Eren's voice was little more than a whisper. "I don't want you to hurt him."

"It's too late for that." I know, that's what I'm afraid of.

Gone, into pieces.

"Then I won't tell you." He said. Levi looked off to the side, teeth gritting and fist clenched. They said nothing.

.

..

….

….

…..

"Get out." He heard him say. He jerked his head up to look at him, but Levi was already walking towards the door.

"What?" Levi spun, dragging him to his feet, and threw him towards the door. Eren barely kept himself from hurtling into it.

"Get out." He repeated.

"Levi—"

This time, instead a hand over his neck he got a finger to his lips. Eren stopped talking right away.

"I was willing to forgive you," He said. "But now I'm not. So get out, we're done."

"Done?" Eren repeated behind his hand.

"Done." No. No way. He couldn't mean—

"Levi, please! I'm sorry! I won't do it again, I swear, please! Don't do this!" He begged. Since when was he willing to beg for anything? But Levi wasn't just anything. He was everything.

"I'm not even going to question where I went wrong with you." He continued as if he hadn't spoken.

"Levi, god, will you—"

"Until you decide when you want to say something, you can come back. For now, get out. I don't want to see you around, and if I do, who knows what I'll do." He said, opening the door.

"All your secrets will die with me, Eren. You don't have to worry. I won't say a word. I would say I expect you to do the same, but I can't trust you now, can I? So do what you will with what you know of me. Honesty, I don't care about that right now. Just get out."

He pushed him out.

"Rivaille!"

The door shut in his face.

ǂǁǂ

* * *

_I am—alone in this bed, house and head—and he never fixes this. (But at least he…)_

_…_

_Some say, I'll be better without you, but they don't know you like I do. (At least the sides I thought I knew.)_

* * *

_"I have a surprise for you_."

Six days, and he felt as if he was dying. This couldn't be real. Maybe Levi had killed him back then, with his hands around his neck, and Eren's personal hell was to be apart from him. His chest hurt—isn't it possible to die from a broken heart?—and he wished he could take it all back.

But it didn't change the fact that he still didn't know if Levi loved him.

Now that he had time to think about it, it made sense. They did everything together. Levi showed him the world. But at the end of the day he was nothing more than a quick fuck and a hunting partner. And Eren wanted more. Why the fuck was he so complicated? He didn't want to be a toy, a prized possession. He wanted to be loved.

Pathetic.

Six days, and he wallowed in self-pity and a bit of self-hate. And then, on the seventh day, he got a phone call. He answered it immediately, knowing the number by heart, and waited. He clutched the phone like a lifeline.

"I have a surprise for you." Was all he said before he hung up, which left Eren more than a little confused. But he knew where he had to go.

ǂǁǂ

Eren could honestly say that he didn't get surprised at anything anymore—before this, of course—but then he would be wrong. He expected blood all over the place, or an acid bath brewing. But, if there was one thing he hadn't anticipated, it was Jean chained to the wall with no hands and no lips.

Levi had a twisted sense of justice, after all.

Eren paused at the threshold, taking the sight in. He swallowed thickly. Jean barely knew he was there, in all his pain. His head was leaning forward limply, but if the shallow breaths he took were any indicator, he was still alive. For the moment. For a split second, he thought to how Levi managed to keep him to the wall, but then he noticed the thick chain that rested against his Jean's chest snuggly. It was most likely hindering his breathing just as much as the pain was. Eren made a small, displeased noise in the back of his throat. Poor thing. Hopefully Levi wouldn't drag this out too long.

Speaking of the devil himself, Levi was leaning back on a small, wooden chair, cigarette in hand. His eyes were closed, but that in no way meant he wasn't paying attention. He had a way of watching without looking. He was silently gauging Eren's reaction and filing it away in some dark corner in his mind.

Eren refused to speak first, as this wasn't his show. He'd put on enough himself to know when a stage was set. So for a few moments, nothing. Save for the steady tap of Jean's blood on the floor.

(That's how he knew it was serious; the absence of a canvas on the floor and Levi's bloody, uncovered hands. For this, he didn't mind the mess. Even still, Eren would most likely be cleaning this up later.)

"He screamed a lot." Levi said casually, tapping the ash on the edge of the seat. "That is, until he couldn't."

Eren sighed. That was his signal.

"How did you find out?" He asked. He wanted to know. Jean's head came up slightly, reacting to his voice. He made a small, pitiful sound in the back of his throat. Eren was tempted to waltz over and snap his neck to get it over with.

Levi looked at him sharply. "I see and hear everything, remember?"

He let out a huff. "That doesn't answer my question."

It did. And it didn't. At the same time. Maybe the shadows told him. He lived and breathed this city. He _was_ the city.

"What's your point?" Levi asked, bored.

Eren could tell he would get nowhere, so he changed course. "Do you want me to watch?" He asked.

Levi expected it. "Naturally."

"And…?" There was always more.

Levi stood, making a scene with the way he extinguished his cigarette and sauntered over to lean in Eren's face. Eren couldn't help the way his eyes followed his hips. He snapped then back up to his face when long piano-fingers slid into his hair and tilted his head back.

"Kiss him, since you like it so much." He said simply. Bitterly. He couldn't hide the way his lips tipped downward and his eyes narrowed. Eren chose not to comment.

"What?" He said instead.

"I said: Kiss. Him." It was Eren's turn to frown.

"No, I heard you. If you haven't noticed, Levi, he doesn't exactly have lips anymore."

Levi rolled his eyes and pushed him in the direction of Jean. "No shit. Now do it."

Eren landed on his knees in front of him. "Don't push me, I'm going."

Why was he doing this? He didn't have to listen to him anymore. He never had to listen to him, he chose to. They were supposed to be done, remember?

"We were supposed to be done, remember?" He felt a slither of rebellion rise in him.

"We are." Dammit, still stung. "This would have been done last week if you hadn't been a little shit about it." Eren said nothing.

Levi squatted beside him, looking at Jean's slumped form. "You protected him so…valiantly. He would probably appreciate you efforts if he wasn't fighting unconsciousness. So give him a goodbye kiss, I'll allow that."

"_Allow_?" He said angrily.

"Allow." Levi turned to look at him. Eren tried, he really did, to hold his gaze, but he found that he couldn't. He had fucked up after all, and Jean was a good as dead. He would bleed out from his leaking mouth soon enough, and he wouldn't do much surviving without arms. Levi had been smart about it: He cauterized the nubs instead of leaving them open. Eren marveled at the burns. Levi did it with a lighter, which must have been a painfully and long process for Jean. For him to close both sides up neatly, he must have started at least an hour ago. If Eren thought about it, he realized that Levi must have, just before he came inside, just taken off his lips. Otherwise he was sure that Jean would be dead by now.

He gave into his pining stare.

He leaned in close to Jean's face. It was better and worse than he thought. Just a hole. A bloody, gaping hole. There was a single line of flesh down the middle. Only the dip in his upper lip and a little of the bottom remained. On either side of the strip, he could see his teeth—once straight and bright—stained with his favorite color. The blood made interesting patterns. Seeping from the seams and curving under his chin. It dripped to his collarbone, parting the sea of red momentarily and then joining together again to disappear under his dark-stained shirt. Eren wanted to see how it would look if it made it down to his chest or lower. Too bad. He felt his breath deepen. Levi chuckled softly beside him.

"Shut up." He muttered.

He leaned in, smelling him. The copper hit him intensely. Eren licked his lips. Beautiful. Wonderful. Levi knew him well. He wanted to dig his fingers in there, to feel the flesh of his mouth while soaked in his blood. It would feel glorious, he bet. But he fought himself. A kiss. He was supposed to kiss him. He leaned in.

Jean's screams made him groan.

He jerked back immediately, feeling the wave of blood on his own lips and its heat curve down his own chin. He panted. Oh god, yes. He pressed his lips firmly to the blank spaces this time, licking the hardness of Jean's teeth over and over. He curved his tongue to encircle the tiny seam still present, the wetness making it easy to navigate. Not to mention how much he was salivating. He felt tears hit his nose and he paused to lick those too. Levi really a genius—he left just enough flesh there for Eren to take purchase of. He nipped at it, releasing a new gush for him to lap up. He turned his head sideways and grabbed the strip again, pulling. Jean's cry was cut short as he pulled off the last bit of his lips with his teeth.

He spit out the meat and closed his eyes, tipping his head back and swallowing down the blood. He shivered. So good. The warmth tickled his throat.

Fuck, now he was horny. He palmed himself though his woefully tight pants.

He really wanted Levi to fuck him into the floor right now, but they weren't done.

Levi watched him the entire time with a small, satisfied smile on his face. He grabbed Eren's hair and gently pulled him back.

"That's enough." He said. "Was it good?"

Eren's eyes drifted open and he lazily met his eyes. He bit his lip unconsciously. It barely registered when Levi swallowed audibly and the hand in his hair tightened.

"Don't look at me with those eyes, kid." He nearly growled. "We'll have time for that later."

Levi barely caught Jean's head when it fell forward. He produced a syringe out of his pocket, an ominous liquid swirling inside of it. He stuck in into Jean's neck with surgical accuracy.

"Oh no, not yet. Stay awake." He said. Then he pointed to Eren. "You see this?" He asked.

He did. His eyes were wide as saucers now. Whatever was in that needle was warding off death and keeping him alert.

"That face belongs to me. That absolute jubilant fucking satisfaction on that face is all mine. You don't know how to put that look on his face. You don't know half the shit I know. And you never will. You picked the wrong fucking person to fall for, asshole, and it's too bad you won't get the chance to regret it any more than you already do."

With that, he buried a knife deep into Jean's heart, extinguishing him in a matter of seconds. Eren couldn't care less. The chain on the wall kept him from slumping over completely. Levi removed his hand. He dug so deep that his hand was covered in blood. He licked it off, watching Eren silently as he did so.

The only sound for a moment was Eren's heavy breathing. He couldn't calm down. He shifted uncomfortably.

"We good?" Levi asked.

It took a few seconds for Eren to remember how to speak. "Why are you asking me?"

Levi rolled his eyes, hard. "Because you were upset about something." So he did notice. He probably didn't know what about, though. "That's the reason for him, right?" He jerked his head in Jean's direction.

Eren nodded. Levi seemed satisfied. He returned the nod and stood, pulling up Eren so they were face to face. Without as much as a word, he leaned in and licked Eren's face clean, never breaking eye contact. Eren bit back a moan.

Levi regarded him for a moment, before rolling his eyes and pulling him into a hug. Eren tried not to be surprised but his body was extremely tense.

"Are we good?" Levi repeated.

Eren bit his lip.

Should he—?

He should.

"Levi, do you love me?" He asked, closing his eyes and waiting for rejection.

"You're an idiot." He responded gruffly, arms tightening.

Eren smiled into his shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Yeah. We're good."

Eren smiled and he was content.

"But you still betrayed me." Levis said without much feeling at all.

Eren's eyes shot open.

_Shit_.

"What do you want me to do?" He begged softly. He squeezed Levi for all it was worth. He wasn't letting go unless Levi pried him off.

Levi thought for a moment, his head resting on Eren's shoulder. Eren wasn't sure it was a good idea, but he took the moment to slide his arms upward. He slipped his arms up to encircle his neck.

"You're a heartbreaker, Eren Jaeger." Levi said into his ear. Eren fought off a shiver, choosing instead to lean back to look him in the eye, confused.

"You have an odd charm about you that people are drawn to." He continued. "So I want you to break a heart."

"What?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Make it up to me by killing one of your friends."

Holy shit.

Eren was speechless. But, who?

"Not Armin or Mikasa, I won't do that to you. Mikasa's to smart and technically she's your sister, so she doesn't count. She'd likely catch on and kill you first anyway." He mused. "And I find myself liking the little blonde kid, so he's out too."

"What about Sasha?" Eren said without thinking. Why offer up people, you idiot? You don't even know if you're going through with this, anyway.

"Sasha? I don't know that one." He said.

"Yes you do. I told you about her. The one that likes food."

Levi nodded. "Hmm. A girl? That's perfect." He said. "I always said I needed to teach you some patience. You need to learn to value a kill. Seduce her. Take your time. We'll make a game of it. And then rip her heart out—literally and figuratively, of course—while I watch."

Eren raised an eyebrow. "You'll be okay with that? That will make you happy?"

Levi laughed darkly. "It will."

Eren nodded. "So be it." He said without hesitation.

"Just don't fuck her." He threw in jokingly. He wasn't joking.

Eren was sure he shouldn't laugh.

Eren turned to get one of the hacksaws off the opposite wall—they would have to clean up, after all—but then Levi grabbed his arm and spin him around. He felt his breath catch at the promise in Levi's eyes.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I—"

"I said we would have time to fuck later." He said. "It's later."

And they descended into chaos.

* * *

_Looking for heaven, found the devil in me…_

_…_

_Be careful making wishes in the dark._

* * *

**Currently**

"I had to make sure you stayed out of the way. For the grand plan." Levi said, making his way out of the shack. The five minutes were up. "I had to test him, after everything. It's nothing against you. I had to make sure he'd be loyal to be after his first betrayal. " Connie didn't understand his words at all. Whose way? Eren's? Why? What grand plan? What betrayal?

Eren must have known this guy somehow, but from where? Where would a guy like Eren meet a kidnapper that has shacks in the middle of the woods? He was scared for his friend as much as for himself.

Just what the fuck was going on?

* * *

**One and One Half Months Before.**

He must have went on a millions dates with her already, but they never ceased in being fun. Today was a dinner date. A date which he instantly regretted. How on god's green earth did he forget that Sasha was a food maniac? He watched her eat all the time at school! What was wrong with him, bringing her here?

She shoveled food in her mouth, barely breathing in between each bite before something else was stuffed in too. She nearly scratched the skin off his fingers when he tried to grab a bread roll, so he retreated. Eren wasn't sure if embarrassed was the emotion to feel when the people around him began to stare. Maybe it was. He was tempted to act as if he dropped something and roll away on the floor.

"Sasha…" He whispered.

She paused mid-chew, with her mouth open, and he grimaced.

"Slow down a bit. I don't want you to choke." He said.

_Although, it would make things a bit easier for me._

Once she swallowed down enough of the food, she spoke. "Oh! Sorry, I'm being rude."

"It's okay." He said, tapping her arm in comfort.

"It's just—it all tastes so good!"

Eren laughed. "I know. I just don't want you to hurt yourself. " _I do a little_.

Sasha smiled. "You're such a good guy, Eren. I'm so lucky to have you." She said.

Eren instantly sobered. Now why did she have to go and say that?

Once they were done, and he paid, he began to walk her home.

"No, you're really not." He muttered.

By that time, she had no idea what he was talking about.

ǂǁǂ

They were in front of her door. The lights were off in every room but her own.

"I had a good time." She said, looking down.

"Me too." He said.

Was it weird that in all the time he they were dating, he never kissed her on the lips? Yeah, it was. Straight boys didn't do that, right? They would have made a move by now. Dammit.

Part of him was wary. The last person that kissed him that wasn't Levi, well…

But this was different. Levi had given his permission to seduce her. Hell, it was his idea! So he wouldn't have to worry about her getting hurt because of him, right? That was a stupid question that he already knew the answer to. She wouldn't be hurt, yet.

Eren didn't like to dwell on his and Sasha's time together. It was weird. She made him feel weird. He tried to only remember the things she said and what she enjoyed. He never intended to make serious memories with her, but it would be suspicious if he didn't kiss her one of these days.

Too bad she beat him to it.

She leaned forward suddenly while he was lost in his thoughts.

Oh.

My.

Fuck.

This was certainly new.

Why was he getting a warm tingle in his chest and buzz against his lips from Sasha?

He made an odd noise in the back of his throat when she pressed a little harder. She must have taken it as a bad sign, because she pulled away hastily and began to mumble apologizes. He stopped her quickly.

"It's okay," He heard himself saying. Where had he heard that before? "I'm not mad."

"Really?" She asked, eyes shining.

"Yeah. In fact I was going to kiss you but you beat me to the punch." He tried his best to grin.

"Oh, sorry." She said sheepishly.

He laughed truly. "No you're not."

"You're totally right."

He kissed her forehead and mumbled his goodbye.

"I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

She nodded and disappeared inside.

"Oh fuck." He whispered to himself long after the light in her room went black.

* * *

**End of Part One**


	2. Part Two

**PART TWO**

* * *

**One and One Half Months Before**

He was starting to rethink it. Eren had no idea where this was coming from. Sasha was a nice girl. She was cute and she made him laugh. What was he going to do? Levi wouldn't stand for it. He never let Eren bitch out of anything. Not for getting a tattoo, not when he sucked Levi's dick for the first time, not when they tried bondage—He was getting off track here. To put it simply, Levi never let Eren _not_ do something. Levi had shown him everything. How could he refuse him?

But this was so new to him. He hunted _so_ _many people_. It was a game. A game between the two of them that the two of them immensely enjoyed. Levi always liked planning it out and leading them on, only to surprise them in the end and end their life. And Eren went along with it. So what the hell? What was different about Sasha? Was it because he enjoyed being around her? Because he considered her a good friend? Or, he dreaded to think, was it because he felt a spark between them when he kissed her? Was he attracted to someone besides Levi? _Again_? Was that even fucking possible? He thought it at least be another decade.

He couldn't fuck this up now. He was supposed to be learning patience! He was supposed to be earning his trust back! But Sasha was a nice girl. A friend. She didn't deserve what was in store for her.

_Fuck you, Jean._ He thought. _This is all your fault. Even in death, you haunt me. Corny bastard._

He tried to avoid her at school, but not on the phone. He pretended like he was sick a few days so he wouldn't feel crushing guilt when he looked into her eyes. For god sakes, he had already _removed _Connie so he wouldn't get in the way, so he couldn't back out. It wasn't like Levi would let Connie go if Eren tried to plead with him to get another _trust exercise_. Or let Sasha live. Or Eren, for that matter. He was sure there would be no superhero Erwin this time if Levi got pissed at him again.

_What's with all the unease, Jaeger? You killed a woman at twelve. You planned it when you were eight. You fantasied about death and blood even younger. They would bring back the chair if they found out what you did, how many you killed in the six years you've lived in the shadows_. _You think saving one girl will make up for it? What about the victims with children, with lovers, with friends? Where was the mercy then?_

**_But they weren't your friends, Eren. You had no personal connection to them. You didn't share notes or watch movies with them. They didn't come to you with problems. And you didn't listen to them. This is different. She's different._**

_Is it?_

**Yes.**

_No._

Yes/No.

I don't know.

"Levi…" He whispered into the darkness of his bedroom. "Hurry up and come back."

* * *

**One Month Before**

"What's that face for?" Eren asked quietly over lunch. Mikasa had an odd look on her face.

They were sitting in the house with the heat cranked high. December's tended to be the coldest month around here, which was unfortunately when all the school-aged kids were on break.

Their dad was out, as usual, fighting crime and whatnot. It was a shame that they didn't get to spend much time with him at all anymore. It was the two of them more often than not.

Eren was worried by not seeing his father. Crime had jumped exponentially in the last few months. No doubt his and Levi's influence. With the dismembered bodies they placed around town popping up more frequently, other criminals had gotten bolder. Bodies left in the middle of the street, or on top of cars. Robberies in broad daylight. A store owner, just the other day, was gutted in front of his wife while she was punched and kicked repeatedly. They left her alive to tell the story. They were the Blue Dragons or some shit like that. And they were "taking over."

They would be caught before the year's end.

Announcing yourself was downright stupid. The police would catch on and they would go down, end of story. His father was very efficient on the things he _chose_ to pay attention to. Did he just say that? Disregard it.

"Levi's back. He called while you were out yesterday. You left your phone." She said, collecting the dishes.

He was aware that Mikasa didn't really like Levi, and the feeling was mutual on his side. He kind of understood it; they were in competition for his time and attention, and neither were the type to share. But his sister, if anything, was understanding. She got that Levi held his heart and she at least tried to be civil with him whenever he was in town. Levi hadn't tried at first, all but ignoring her and silently wishing she would go away. (Eren was an expert on reading his face by now.) Eren subtly hinted that he would like it if they got along—for all of their sakes—and naturally, Rivaille acted like an ass and put on a grand show about _not_ doing such, but in the end they a could be in the same place for more than ten minutes without some indirect jabs at each other. He had to live with it, because he doubted that it would improve more than that.

He smiled. "Good."

Mikasa frowned. "Will he be coming over?" She asked.

"Nah. We're going out."

She stared at him quietly for a few minutes. He held her gaze. "Be careful." Was all she said.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know."

He downed the rest of his drink and squeezed her shoulder. Her hand came up to cover it. After a while, he pulled away, making his way down the hall.

He was almost to his room before he heard her call to him. "Make him use protection!" She said.

He snorted.

ǂǁǂ

Eren smiled as he adjusted his seatbelt. He didn't want to outright say that he missed Levi, but he had. Levi on the other hand, was leaning out the driver's side window with a cigarette, his face blank. When Eren let do out the belt, Levi swooped in and kissed him. He tasted of smoke. Eren didn't mind much, he just hated when the car smelled of it. It was a completely different story when it was on Levi's lips.

"Hey." Levi said after he pulled away.

Eren already mourned the loss of the sensation. "Hey."

"You missed me?" He asked with a sly smirk.

Eren rolled his eyes. "Maybe."

Levi chuckled and pulled out of the driveway.

Eren was glad his father had been very tired when he came home and nearly passed out on the couch. He didn't want to explain where he was going. Mikasa knew not to ask too many questions.

Levi, after Eren's little_ incident_, had made a conscious effort to take him out on little dates more often when he wasn't working. Eren enjoyed them immensely. He didn't do stupid things like circle the date on the calendar or count down the days in his head, but he did look forward to them. Not to mention that if whatever Levi had planned for the evening ended quickly enough, Eren would get the_ ride_ of his life and maybe a little hunting thrown in.

He hadn't been as excited when it first started. Levi still was a little mad at the time, so when Eren found him waiting outside of his house the first night with a scowl on his face, Eren had naturally been a little wary. But he was told to shut up and grab a jacket—

(Levi was always worried about him getting a chill for some reason, how considerate.)

—It didn't take long for him to figure out that Levi had come up with some sort of plan to spend so much time with him that he wouldn't have time to think of anyone else. Eren couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

(Good.)

The movie that time had been a two-bit action flick that was worth less than the twenty dollars they spent on it, but Levi discreetly took his hand on the way out while Eren went on about how bad it was. It took him a second to realize, but he didn't say anything about it. God forbid he start swinging their interlocked hands. Levi would have jerked his hand away, smack him upside his head, and never do such a thing again. While Eren, even if it turned out to be the only time they ever held hands, was surprised he hadn't sprouted wings the second he felt the heat of Levi's hand and flew away to Mars.

Ahem.

Then their nights were filled with dinner, and crafts, and they even took a cooking class together. They ended up covered in flour and sugar and _other_ things once they got back to Levi's house. Who knew that cooking would excite them so much? Those days were great. Eren got to spend normal time with Levi each week that was separate from their other, shared pastime. That's not to say the two didn't meld into one long activity sometimes.

(Often)

Currently, Eren was putting up quite the fight not to let Levi pay for his dinner. They had this argument many times before, many of which Eren lost terribly. He tried to argue that he was old enough to pick up his own tab and Levi rolled his eyes and insinuated that since Eren didn't have a job, he should hold onto whatever money he had in case something more important came up. He, in his fancy wording, called Eren broke. He kind of was. But that was beside the point.

"I'm eighteen for fuck's sake! I think I can at least pay for my own chicken nuggets!" He whisper-yelled, trying not to disturb the people around them.

"I know how old you are, damn brat. If you want to act _so mature _and independent all of a sudden, why are you still ordering chicken nuggets off the _goddamn kids menu_ in the first place?"

Eren gasped in horror. "Because they're delicious!"

"So is the _rest _of the chicken!"

_Ahem._

Dinner was always interesting when the two of them were involved. It wasn't like Eren hated when Levi wanted to pay for him, he just didn't want him to do it _every time_. He liked to feel like he contributed s_omething_. He brought it up on the way out of the restaurant—after Levi paid—but he was met with a scoff and an eye-roll.

(He had this weird way of taking care of him that Eren couldn't quite figure out. Sometimes he was met with cold detachment—as was the rest of the world—and other times he would be carried inside his house when he fell asleep or hand-fed pieces of cake that Levi was secretly proud of. Or, now, when a strong arm would slyly snake it's a way around his neck and he would be pulled into a warm side. It caught him off guard for a few seconds, but then he fit in the crook of his shoulder like a puzzle piece. Maybe he didn't mind being taken care off as much as he made it seem, because whenever Levi was mostly in charge, Eren would be treated to the sweetest sides of him. There was probably a reason for that, but Eren chose not to dwell on it.)

(When Levi noticed Eren ease into him, he gave his shoulder a little squeeze and pulled him a little closer.)

Eren smiled to himself. Levi watched him from the corner of his eyes, trying to make sure he was comfortable. It was so _adorable_. Who would have thought that the mean and sometimes violent Levi liked to _coddle_?

Eren sent him a devious look. "You're just_ full_ of sugar, aren't you?"

Levi stopped walking and gazed at him, deadpanned. "You ruined it. See? We were having a moment, and you fucking ruined it. This is why we can't have nice things."

He began to walk quickly and Eren had to jog to catch up. It was hard with how hard he was laughing. He tugged on Levi's arm to get him to slow down. Eren leaned on his shoulder and batted his lashes prettily. It was ruined by the air still escaping from his lips. "No, wait Levi! I'm _sorry_! I appreciate it! I won't say anything about it anymore! I _promise_!" He said between laughs.

"Shut up." Levi pushed the side of his head, lips tipping upward despite how he was obviously trying to fight it. "Stop laughing, brat."

"_Leevviii_!" He whined.

Levi stiffened slightly, staring in front of him. Eren looked over, noticing a few shady characters leaning Levi's car, talking lowly amongst themselves. They looked up when the two of them got close enough. Eren narrowed his eyes. He recognized most of them. A band of roving assassins. Eren thought the name was quite crafty. They were called the "Crows" or something. And there was a group of them. A group of crows was called a _murder. _Get it? A _murder_ of crows_, because they committed murder— _anyway, that didn't mean they could just lounge as they pleased.

"Hey." The leader said. His name was Doug. Or Daniel. Eren didn't give a fuck, really. He knew it started with a D.

(Doug-Daniel was a stout man, with far too many tattoos and bad teeth. He looked like the kind of guy to be wrapped up in bad shit. He also looked like he didn't take too many baths. Dirty people pissed Levi—and himself—off. That's probably why Eren never made much of an effort to remember his name.)

Eren knew this was _not_ good. Usually, if someone was to come to Levi by their own free will, some sort of deal or business had went south. Eren wasn't in the mood for that. That's what cellphones are for. Or mornings. Or, _not right now_. They could easy just push the interfering bastards off the car and drive away_— _

"Shut up." Levi muttered in his ear.

"I didn't say anything!" Eren protested in an equally-low voice.

"You were about to."

Doug-Daniel cleared his throat.

"What?" Levi said sharply, eyes scanning the group. "I'm busy."

Doug's eyes fluttered over to Levi's arm, which was still linked with Eren's. He looked up at Eren swiftly and then looked away. "I know. Wednesdays and Thursdays are off limits. Sorry." He said. "You guys active tonight?"

Levi and Eren shared a quick look. Eren shrugged. "Maybe. Why?"

This time, a fellow veteran of the crowd named Waylon (or something) spoke up. "Police presence been amped up. They caught a few of our boys on the east end. Just thought you'd like to know."

Eren hummed and nodded to him. Levi, on the other hand, sneered. "Is there some reason you thought I wouldn't know that?"

Waylon and Doug's eyes filled with mute panic. "We—"

"_We _nothing. You did your jobs. I'm so proud. Now go away. I don't—"

"Naturally, the King of Shadows knows everything that goes on in_ his_ city. I told you coming here would be a waste of time." Some random fuck towards the back muttered. Eren didn't know this guy. He was tall, dark-haired, and formally irrelevant. He wasn't now. Eren could smell the newbie on him. Only a newbie—or one bold son-of-a-bitch—would cut Levi off in mid-sentence.

Everyone froze.

Doug whipped around, punching new-guy dead in his nose.

"Shut up!" Someone else in the group shouted at the same time. "Have some respect!"

Eren heard what the words really meant. _Are you trying to get us all killed? _The crows were mentally screaming at him. He smirked.

He looked over to Levi who had a blank, calculating look in his eyes. "Who the fuck are you?" he asked, jutting his chin out at him.

"Terry." He muttered, cupping his face. Blood spilled through the seams of his fingers. Eren shifted at the sight of it. Levi nodded at Waylon.

"He's new." Not a question.

Waylon jerked his head rapidly. "Yeah."

"Teach him better." Levi said simply, eyes cutting over to Doug.

The crows stood to attention, not sure how things would go from here on. Levi had a notoriously bad temper, and he hated to be interrupted. It seemed like a trivial thing to be potentially _maimed_ over. Though Eren knew that Levi had a reputation to uphold. If he eased his iron grip on the miscreants of this city, someone would try to swoop in and take his place. Was he proud that his man could make the poor fools wet themselves and run screaming with only a slow blink and an ugly sneer? Very. This, however, was not one of those times. He didn't care about these stupid fucks and their stupid disrespect. He cared about ending his night on a high note. As a matter of fact, he changed his mind. He might just end them himself. Nobody interrupts his date nights. This is the exact reason why Wednesdays and Thursdays were _off limits_.

He could feel Levi getting irritated. Without looking at him, he tightened his grip on his arm, hoping he got the message that Eren was ready for this little exchange to end without someone losing a head.

"Yes, of course, I'll-" Doug started.

Levi narrowed his eyes at the men dangerously. "Leave, I'm bored of all of you."

They were gone within moments, scattered back into the dark.

Levi waited a few moments, eyes scanning their surroundings silently. Then he opened the car doors. They slipped inside.

While adjusting his seatbelt, Eren kept sending sly looks over to Levi in the driver's seat. Levi started the car, pulling out of the slight parking space with ease.

"What?" Levi asked without taking his eyes off the road. Eren looked out the window at the passing scenery.

"They're more trouble than they're worth." He muttered. Eren felt his eyes drooping slowly while he was getting lured to sleep by the gentle rock of the car. He fought to stay awake. Eren always felt like a little kid when this happened, which was quite often. He would complain about wanting to go somewhere else after they finished their activity for the night, only to be fast asleep when Levi drove them there.

Levi made a clicking sound in the back of his throat. "You think so?"

Eren nodded. "Yeah."

"Who would you suggest to replace them?" Levi asked. Eren thought for a moment.

"The Wolves."

Levi scoffed. "The Wolves? In the East End?" He shot Eren a look as they reached a red light. "Explain the logic behind that."

Eren knew this was coming. In fact, he planned a whole speech weeks ago. The Crows were too messy and unorganized. They would only serve to drag Levi down. They were too deep in some of the other sides of Levi's business—like human trafficking and synthetic drugs. They made great money for Levi—

(And Levi made_ lots_ of it. Having a hand in everything did that. They didn't call him the King for nothing. He may not have gotten paid for murder—not_ anymore_, anyway—but he was a genius that could produce coin out of _anything_. )

—but they were useless to him if they were too tweaked out to keep their heads on straight. Eren would be damned if Levi got caught up because of the senseless little shits.

"The leader—" He began.

"—Mike." Levi supplied for him.

"Yes, _Mike_ is completely devoted to you. He doesn't do any of the hard stuff, he got intuition and reflexes like a fucking animal, he got connections everywhere, and did I mention that he's damn near obsessive about you and will hang onto your every word?"

Levi shrugged. "Daniel's reliable enough. His team's just shitty."

Ah. So his name _was_ Daniel. "What good is the boss if he can't control his underlings?"

"Hmm." Green light. "You make a good point. How would you suggest I deal with the Crows, then?"

Eren blinked at the side of his face. "_Murder_?" he said innocently.

"You're not funny. You've been waiting to make that joke since you saw them, haven't you?"

"Maybe." Eren said with a laugh.

Levi chuckled with him. "So you think Mike would take well to a hostile takeover?"

"He's in love with you, I doubt he'll mind much as long as he gets to be around you."

"So being _in love_ makes you subservient? I don't think so."

Eren looked out of the window again. "Sometimes it does." He muttered.

He could feel Levi eyes on him and he tried to fight down a blush. He knew the smug bastard had a smirk on his face right now, and he didn't want to see it.

Eren punched him in the side. "Shut up." Levi made a little 'oof' noise.

"I didn't say anything."

"_You were about to_." Eren said snidely, throwing his earlier words back at him.

"Touché." Levi said, smiling and ruffling Eren's hair with his hand.

ǂǁǂ

Levi once told him that, "The people with the brightest lives live the most in the shadows."

Everywhere, they lurked. In plain sight.

It made sense with everything Eren knew. At first, he thought it a simple opinion, but now he realized it was fact.

They were sitting outside of a well-known gay strip club, waiting on the last few "early-birds" to file out so they could choose a target. Early birds meaning those that would leave before the am's to get home to their wives and children. Levi had a problem with those types. Those were the ones he wanted. Like now, when a tall, light-haired forty something eased out of the front—lighting a cigarette and blowing into his hands for warmth—Levi's eyes narrowed slightly, a funny look crossing his face. His eyes were far away; He was now in a different place in a different time. Eren knew who he saw in that man (who he saw in_ every_ man that looked the part) and he smirked. Him. He would do.

"How do you want to do this?" He said gently, tearing Levi from his thoughts. His words were met with a blink. Then another.

"Distract him." He mumbled.

Eren nodded. He was about to get out of the car, so they could begin, but decided to lean over and give Levi a small peck on the lips. He didn't expect for it to be returned. It wasn't.

"Hey," He said, searching Levi's eyes. "Stay with me."

Levi pinned him with a level stare. "I'm here."

Eren smiled weakly. "Good."

He stepped out.

Any sane person, any person with the least bit of common sense would know not to walk around by themselves late at night. Not here. Not after recent years. He was older, and must have remembered what this city was like before it became a waking nightmare. Or, he didn't care. He was already living on the edge. His wedding ring still firmly on his finger, but he must have felt he had nothing to lose. He took the backstreets to Uptown. Ah. Eren knew where he was going. To the nice, little brownstones that were squashed together with barely any room between them. (His mind began to wander in a haze of memories, they flew behind his eyes in a flurry of motion. He could almost trace his steps. Another block, then a left, then another and he would be standing in front of—)

He didn't have time for this. If he let the man get home, he wouldn't have the chance to get his attention. And, Eren had a problem with hurting people too close to home. It was strange; He knew that many of the people he had killed had others to go home to. Maybe a wife, a husband, or a dog, even a goldfish that would miss them. But that meant nothing to him if he didn't see them. If he got too close—too close to seeing what their life was like and how much they enjoyed it—he would hesitate or back out entirely. Better to grab someone randomly off the street and tear out their heart in a dirty warehouse than do it where that person made memories.

"Hey." It was time. The street was clear. It was late enough that those with smarts were snug in their beds with the windows and doors locked tight. He hadn't meant to, but he was standing underneath a slightly flickering street light. He nearly smiled. He leaned against it. What character should he play? The hungry urchin? It was one of his favorites. They random guy that wants to bum a cigarette? Too weird this late at night.

The man turned around swiftly, sucking in a breath in fear. "Shit! You scared the fuck out of me!"

He was given the up and down from dull, brown eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

The man snorted. "The fuck do you want?"

What should he say? _To kill you_? That wouldn't go over well. Oh! He knew who he should play! Ah yes, time to put all those drama classes to use.

"You," He said softly. He bit his lip and lowered his eyes sultry. He poked the man in the chest gently, curving his finger around a button on his shirt. "Look like the type of guy that knows how to have _fun_." He was met with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

(Eren had practiced being sexy and lowering his voice in the mirror a million times. It was awkward at first, and he extremely embarrassed of himself, but it was worth it when he could make Levi go crazy from want. He figured it wouldn't hurt to use it on this guy for forty five seconds.)

"What's your name?" He asked.

"You can call me Fred." Fred said. He gave Eren a little lazy, lopsided grin. It probably was his signature one. He probably thought it was cute or sensual. It was not. Eren found it a little creepy. He fought off a shiver.

Did this Fred not think this was strange, a random kid coming up to you on a deserted street in the middle of the night talking about fun? Apparently, he hadn't got his money's worth back in the club. Or, he was an idiot with no sense of survival. Eren grit his teeth, fighting off a wave a disgust that washed over him like a wave. He hated those types. He hated _him_ already.

(Time to **_die_**.)

"So, _Fred_," He said, dragging his name out for effect. "Do you want to have _fun_ with me?"

It worked, if the way Fred's smirk deepened and he took a step closer. "Maybe."

"Don't be coy." Eren said, fighting down an eye-roll. Seriously, one day his eyes would roll right out of their sockets. "I'm worth it, trust me." He bat his eyelashes.

"You some kind of whore or something?" Fred asked. Eren internally shrugged. He guessed that was the role for the night. He would have to use this one again sometimes; it was kind of fun.

Eren smirked and clicked his tongue. "_Maybe_."

Fred chuckled throatily. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Hmm. You look younger."

Like he hadn't heard _that_ before. "Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"Good." Fred said with a nasty leer.

Great, he was a pervert. The world wouldn't miss him.

They began walking together, Eren keeping to the side away from the street. He pretended to be engaged in what Fred was talking about, but he couldn't care less. What type of man had small talk with a prostitute? A _fake_ prostitute, but whatever. He told him about his twins who were staying over at a friend's, his job at his law firm that he was tired of, and his wife that never had time for him anymore after her business took off. He always thought he was gay, blah, blah, blah. He was a lonely soul. And his loneliness turned into bad behavior. That bad behavior became late-night visits to gay clubs and self-discovery and walking down an empty street, bearing your soul to a fake prostitute slash killer as you walked the barely-legal boy back to your empty house. Pathetic. He would make great art, Eren thought. He would have to get Levi to incorporate Fred's confusion into his sculpture.

His life, otherwise, was fine. He didn't live the night-life. That's probably why he wasn't warier of what lurked under the moonlight. Everywhere, darkness lurked. Too bad he wouldn't have time to learn not to trust bright-eyed boys that stood under flickering streetlights. Shame.

"This is taking too long." Eren said. It _was _taking too long. Fred was telling him that they only two blocks to go, but Eren didn't want to get out of the business district. Like he said, taking someone out inside of their house was a bit too much for him.

"But, it's just—"

Eren dragged Fred against him, hiding a wince when the brick wall behind dung into his back. "I don't care. Do it, right here, against this wall." He whispered.

Fred's eyes went wide and his breath caught. "Right here?" He said, a bit alarmed.

"No one's here. I want it. Come on." He fumbled with Fred's belt. He hoped that Fred would protest a little more, because he wasn't trying to actually get his pants off. Fred was already a little excited, his slight bulge growing bigger as Eren ran his hand across it. His hand was grabbed and pinned back of the wall.

"You sure?" Fred murmured in his ear.

Eren smirked. Not at Fred, but at the small movement he noticed behind him. "Yeah. I'm sure."

He leaned his head to the right.

He didn't flinch when Fred's head smashed forward into the wall from the force of Levi's blow. Fred's teeth would certainly be embedded in the bricks. He pushed his hands forward, trying to get the now-slumped, heavy body off of him. He looked to Levi, who flipped the metal bar once in his hand and rested it on his shoulder.

"You didn't have to hit him _that _hard." Eren said, trying to hold back a laugh. Levi narrowed his eyes.

"Stop being soft. " He snapped. "Who were you supposed to be?"

_Jealous_. "A whore."

Levi snorted, lifting Fred and slinging him over his shoulder. "You'll have to remember that one for later."

Eren smirked. "Of course."

ǂǁǂ

Fred was wrapped in a large tarp in the backseat, facedown. Blood stained where the fabric met the back of his head, thick and blossoming. He wanted to touch it, but he was a little busy at the moment.

The garage was dark, save for one small light that at least let him see his hand in front of him. His right leg was cramped near his chest, while his left hanging over the middle compartment. He spread his legs more to get conformable.

He couldn't keep his mouth closed—his salvia wetting the heated skin it rested against. His warm breath contrasting the outside air, causing the windows to fog. He panted into Levi's shoulder, each thrust causing him to jerk and lose his breath. Eren ground down on the spearing heat inside of him, biting hard when Levi rolled his hips.

"_S-shit_." he stammered.

Levi's hand snaked into his hair, tugging it back as he sucked on his neck slowly. Eren's eyes fluttered shut. He let himself be carried away by Levi's gentle rocking. "_Harder_."

He whined at Levi's firm and sultry. "**_No_**."

"_Please_." He hated to beg, but he needed it. It had been too long.

He gasped loudly when Levi sped up, hips lurching upward like he wanted to break him. He moaned, trying to keep up.

"I thought you wanted it _harder_." Levi gritted out, hands sliding down to grip Eren's hips.

"I do." He said, biting his lip.

His down-thrusts faltered. Eren didn't want it to be over yet. He tried to distract himself. No dice.

His eyes traveled over the seat. He grabbed Levi's shoulders, lifting himself high, and dropped back down. White exploded behind his eyes. "_Ah!_" He moaned.

He could still the dark stains that peppered Fred's hair. He wished he could reach it from here, run his fingers through it. Eren went to reach his arm out, only to have it caught quickly. Warm fingers enveloped his tightly.

"If you do that, I'll be jealous." Levi whispered in his ear. Eren's breath caught.

"_What_?" He puffed. "_Why_?"

Levi didn't answer. His arm flew to Eren's middle and tightened mutely around it.

"No reason." He said after a minute.

Eren's next words were cut off by a particularly forceful thrust. He nearly cried out, feeling his completion near. Levi knew him too well, and gripped the base of his cock. He whined pathetically.

"_Nooo_." He managed, causing Levi to chuckle darkly at him.

They fell into silence, the only noise being Eren's soft cries and Levi deep groaning. _So good_, he thought. _So good_. _Break me_.

He wrapped his arms around Levi's head and driving himself down forcefully. He squeezed around the heat inside of him, smiling gently at Levi's almost pained groan. Levi's hand slipped upward while still holding onto him, jerking out of time with his thrusts. Eren couldn't take it anymore. He exploded, throwing his head back and whimpered loudly.

He sagged, but managed to still move in earnest to help Levi reach his peak. In a matter of moments, strong hands gripped his hips until they creaked and he felt warmth surge inside of him.

He sighed resting against Levi's chest as they both caught their breaths.

They said nothing.

It bothered him.

"What did you mean by that?" He asked, sliding his eyes up to Levi's carefully blank face. "Is it even possible to be jealous of a dead man?"

Levi pinned him with a hard stare. "You'd be surprised."

Huh?

What was he talking abo—?

Oh.

_Oh_.

Eren blinked once, twice, three times. "There's no reason to be." He didn't let him say anything else. He kissed him, hard and punishing. Levi's arm curled around his neck as Eren licked the roof of his mouth. He smiled into the kiss as Levi released a soft groan.

"Don't be stupid." He said as he pulled away. "I just wanted to touch the blood. I wasn't thinking about anyone else."

Levi looked as if he didn't believe him. "You want to play with some? Fine." Eren's eyes widened as Levi bit his own tongue hard enough to draw blood. Eren swallowed thickly, leaning in and lapping up the little trickle that escaped. He sighed. Levi's blood always tasted the best.

He was being watched with smoldering eyes. He felt himself becoming aroused again.

"Doesn't it hurt?" he asked, wanted to stick his tongue in Levi's mouth. The bastard was keeping it closed on purpose.

He got a raised eyebrow, as to say: "And?"

Levi slowly rolled his tongue outward; He kept his eyes on Eren, waiting. Eren nearly attacked him—sucking, biting—_so good._ He thought. Levi didn't seem to notice the sting; he kept jabbing his tongue inside Eren's mouth and relishing in his moans. They nipped at each other, and soon Eren's blood was mixed in to their sloppy kisses. His lips felt swollen and they ached, but he didn't stop. Levi was fully hard again, and he began making slow, torturing movements.

Eren pulled away, pushing on Levi's chest as he tried to follow him. "We should stop." He said between pants. "I have school tomorrow and," He made a lazy gesture to the backseat. "We still haven't finished with him."

Levi looked as if he fought himself, but eventually dragged Eren off of him and placed him in the passenger's seat. Eren leaned back into the chair and tried to collect himself.

.

..

...

...

...

"You're still hard." Eren said.

"So are you."

Quiet.

"Fifteen minutes." Levi said, _not_ in the form of a question.

"Okay." Eren said a little too quickly.

Levi laughed, dragging him back onto his lap as they descended into chaos.

ǂǁǂ

"He should be upside down!" Eren huffed, jamming the last hook into Fred's bloody shoulder. Levi rolled his eyes and batted his hand away.

From the position they were in, on top of an abandoned warehouse, poor, little Fred would be visible from the street come daylight. After they threw him over the side, of course. Now, if only they could manage to agree on whether what position he should be in.

"No." Levi said. "You already put his hands where he feet should be, we don't need to do any more than that."

"I wanted to convey his confusion! It's poetic!"

"Convey? Since when do you say_ convey_? And that's stupid, by the way."

"You're stupid."

Levi glared. "Don't start."

"You suck. I hate you."

"Shut up."

"_You_ shut up."

"_Eren—"_

_"I know you are but what am I?"_

"That doesn't even make sense, you shitty brat!"

* * *

**Thirteen Years Ago**

**(Rivaille)**

Funerals were boring.

All the sobbing, sad people around him. He hated it. What real reason did they have to cry? He should be the one crying. It was his mother that was dead, killed by his own father. But he wasn't sad. Not much, anyway. His mother was always suffering at the hands of his father. With his drinking, and his lying and cheating. She was a nice, wholesome woman. She didn't deserve what he did to her. She deserved to be an angel. So, he wouldn't cry. This world wasn't good enough for her so he was glad she wasn't in it anymore.

_"Poor thing, he's just sitting there…"_

_"…I wonder who will take him…"_

_"Didn't she have a younger sister?"_

_"…inconsolable. Her husband took her back to their car. Could she handle a child?"_

_"…might have been a bastard, but he was mighty rich. Those kids won't have to worry about a thing…"_

Shut up.

They all talked too much. They didn't care, not really. They were only here because his father was an important man and these people liked to gossip. They wanted to know who would get his inheritance. Would it go to his two children, or his many mistresses? Life's great mysteries.

He felt a presence beside him.

"Shouldn't you still be in college?" He asked.

Erwin leaned into him and discreetly took his hand. "Come on, Levi, you thought I wouldn't come?"

"You're late."

"I know."

"Father didn't kill himself." Levi whispered fiercely. He could feel Erwin's eyes on the top of his head. His brother looked around to see if anyone heard. They were too busy with their own conversations to actually worry about sad, little orphans. Well, Levi was an orphan, Erwin's mother was still alive.

"I know."

Levi looked up at him, eyes misty. "I _had_ to." He whispered, this time, softer.

Erwin's eyes were so very, very sad. "I know."

Levi closed his eyes. He said he wouldn't cry, but—

Erwin lifted him up and sat him in his lap. He rested his blonde head on top on Levi's hanging one. Levi was glad he wasn't looking at him at the moment—he and that man looked too much alike. He got none of those features, only his mother's slightly softer ones. He used to be jealous of it, but now—

"How long are you going to be here?" He asked softly.

Erwin sighed, tightening his arms around Levi's middle. "As long as you need me."

Someone rose, walking up to the podium with a crumpled, faintly wet paper. He watched as they sniffled, and began to speak.

"Then you won't ever leave." Levi said after a few moments. He felt Erwin nuzzle his hair.

"I know."

* * *

_And in the dark, I can hear your heart beat. I tried to find the sound. But then, it stopped, and I was in the darkness, so the darkness I became._

_…_

_I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made I map. And knew that somehow I could kind my way back. Then I heard your heart beating—you were in the darkness too— so I stayed in the darkness with you. _

* * *

**Two Years Before**

Mikasa had been acting strangely recently. Her appetite changed; she rarely ate. Eren tried not to be overly worried for her—she never had trouble handling herself— but it was eating at him. She was his sister, and he wanted to know what was happening with her. So he could wait until she came to him with her problems.

He waited for a while.

And he waited and waited and waited until; finally one day, she cracked. Not in the way normal people do. No, she did it in her quiet, Mikasa way. She cornered him in the hall, while their father was sleeping and the night was still young. She grasped his arm and pinned him with a burning gaze. They stared at each other for a long time. Eren could feel his patience running thin; he hated waiting for anything. But he learned from the best how to manage. But Mikasa didn't function like him (thank fuck) and she went about things in slow, but sure way. So he said nothing. He anticipated her sigh, and the tightening of her hand on his forearm. He expected her head on his shoulder, and the long, drawn breath on his neck. Her next words, however, threw him.

"I like the taste of human flesh." She muttered against his skin.

He blinked once. He blinked twice. Three times.

He should have anticipated something like this. She, from the moment he met her, was different. Even when she mourned her parents' loss, there was a strong and strange way about her that he always picked up on. But, Cannibalism? Mikasa? _His_ Mikasa?'

(She was overly picky with food. She never had many friends. She observed people like no tomorrow, knew things she wouldn't know from just regular conversation —that had nothing to do with this, Eren!— She liked her steak rare, always. She shared his fascination with blood and guts. Horror movie with flesh-eating demons always made her eyes wide and her breath shallow. How in the fuck had he forgotten that? He thought it was odd, but never commented. For god sakes, she knew he was a murderer and she was okay with it. Normal people didn't do that. _Normal people didn't do that_.)

All the little things he thought nothing of before came flooding in at once. He should have fucking anticipated something like this.

She rested on his shoulder. He knew that, even though her voice did not change and her body remained lax, that she was tense and mindful of his reaction. What did she think he would say, that something like this was too much, even for him? No, this was Mikasa: quiet, loving, strong Mikasa. And this Mikasa just told him something he was sure no one else knew, something that others would judge her harshly for. And Eren loved her, dearly. This wouldn't change his opinion of her. Better yet, part of him was ecstatic that she shared a strange passion like he did.

She had known about what he did since the beginning. He could keep nothing from her. Not for lack of trying. She was a master at reading his face and interpreting his emotions, while he was useless at reading hers. Now he felt like he could share with her even the darkest and sickest shit he did, without feeling as though he would make her uncomfortable. He could barely contain his delight. But Eren played it cool. He simply raised his arms and embraced her, feeling her melt into him. He thought of the coolest line he could think of to reassure her. What would Levi say, in this situation? He had no idea. Fuck.

"So?" He said. That worked, he guessed.

Mikasa's head jerked up. It had been a long time since he saw that look on her face, so vulnerable and unsure. How was it he always saw her make such a face? How long had it been since the last time?

"_So_?" She asked, incredulous." Eren, did you hear me? I said—"

Eren took a step back, cutting her off by grasping her face firmly and head-butting her. She closed her mouth, biting her lips nervously. A cute little confused expression was on her face. He thought to smile sweetly at her, but it would certainly ended up as a grimace. He was never good at smiling, unless it was maniacal or twisted. He didn't want to scare her off. Not now. This was hard for her, and he wanted her to feel okay about this. Show her that there was nothing to be ashamed of. That _he_ wasn't ashamed of her.

"I heard you. I hear you. I always hear you, Mikasa. And I say, so what?" He thought that was awful mature of him, those words. And when her face crumbled and she sobbed silently into his chest, he felt even more grown up when he whispered sweet-soothing words in her ear and patted her head. Now he knew how it felt to be like the older sibling. To comfort someone. It felt…good.

They sank down against the wall in the same position. Her hands fisted his night-shirt, and she let out all her pain and anxieties and grim acceptance as to what she was onto his shoulder. They sat in silence for a long while, his hand stroking her silky hair as he stared into the darkness of the hall. Something was bothering him though. He had to ask.

"So, Mikasa…" He brought up conversationally, easing into it. "Who did you eat, to uh, find out that you…like how people taste?" He swallowed, looking down at the top of her head. Maybe he should have waited until morning to broach the subject, but the curiosity was eating him alive. No pun intended.

"Our Physical Education teacher." She said.

Eren's eyes widened in surprise. Mr. Harmon? Why?

"Why?"

She took her time answering. "Do you remember when you hurt your leg last semester, and he wanted to fail you for not running the mile?"

He had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Yeah."

"That made me angry." Eren chuckled.

"You always get angry when people screw with me." He said.

"Yes."

"So what was different about him?"

"He wouldn't _stop _bothering you. He gave you detention, tried to humiliate you. I didn't like that, so I killed him." She breathed in deeply. "And then I decided I wanted to eat him." She looked down sharply, as if her own admittance surprised her. He could see her slowly shutting down. That was enough soul-bearing tonight. Besides, it was late.

Eren nodded. "Okay. We don't have to talk anymore tonight if you don't want to."

As if on cue, Mikasa yawned. "I want to talk more to you." She whispered. Moments like this, he realized that she was only a year older than him. She looked even younger than him now, like a cute little kid. Eren ruffled her hair.

"But, you're tired." Mikasa squeezed his shoulders.

"I am."

"Then we'll talk more in the morning. Come on." He stood, holding his hand out to help her to her feet. She grasped it. Eren pretended not to see the mist shining in her eyes. It was never right to point out things to a lady that she hadn't noticed herself.

He turned to go to his bedroom, but she caught his sleeve. He didn't look at her as she gently pulled him to her own room.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" She asked at the threshold. He was used to this. Tough, loving, quiet Mikasa drew strength from him. They would hold each other in their sleep, willing the demons away for another night. Once again, he was taken back to the scene years ago, and then the hours that followed, when his little arms could barely encase her and her tears fell like waterfalls. He smiled, leaning his forehead against hers, ignoring how his own green eyes shimmered in the moonlight.

"I will."

She smiled.

"Thank you."

He didn't have to ask what for.

"I love you, sister." He said.

"And I you, brother." She echoed.

She tugged at his arm and pulled him to the bed. They laid face to face, fingers intertwined as they fell into dreams. Neither ever noticed that the door to the left was slightly open.

But before he was dragged to dreamland, his eyes were drawn to Mikasa's dresser. Where a little old, well-loved elephant sat with an over-large scarf that smelled of memories looped tightly around it.

Eren smiled and felt content.

* * *

_I want to know what it'd be like—to find perfection in my pride, to see nothing in the light. But turn it off, in all my spite. In all my spite, I'll turn it off._

_…_

_(Again.)_

* * *

(His father found the Ackerman's killers. Eren didn't know how. Nor did he ask. They died. He saw it in the paper. But first, when his father had stumbled in—eyes wide and chest heaving— with blood on his clothes, Eren said nothing. He had waited for him all night, sitting up in the living room with a book in his hand to pass the time. He had been nodding off when his father entered, and they caught each other's eyes immediately. His father said nothing. Not that Eren expected him to. He stood and made his way down the hall.)

* * *

"Watch yourself, both of you." Their father said on a Wednesday morning over breakfast. They would all be leaving for work and school respectively. Mikasa stopped buttering her toast and Eren paused from shoveling frosted flakes into his mouth. They shared a confused look, glancing at the back of the newspaper that he held up to his face.

"What?" Eren asked.

A flip of the page.

How cliché.

"I said, _watch _yourselves." He pinned them with a heavy look—eyes swiveling back and forth, back and forth— and stood. He reached for his jacket and his cellphone, dropping cash on the table. It would be their allowance for the week. Eren went to grab for it when his father's warm and enveloped his. He looked up to find his other cupping the side of Mikasa's face.

Eren was about to speak, but then whatever was happening was over.

His father made his way to the door and paused.

"Don't be sloppy." He said gravely. "I won't lose either of you, so just don't be sloppy."

Eren didn't remove his eyes from that broad back, but he knew Mikasa's eyes were as wide as his.

One minute of silence passed. Two minutes passed. Three.

"Understood." They said in harmony.

The door echoed behind him.

* * *

** Two Years Before **

"Levi?" Eren asked in bed one night.

"Yeah?" Levi ran his fingers though Eren's mussed hair, silently enjoying its smoothness. Eren nuzzled his hand, jokingly purring like a cat, much to Levi's delight.

"What does Erwin _do_?" He asked. "I mean, when we leave him with the bodies? Does he just get rid of it for us?"

Levi gave a short chuckle. "No, he fucks them first." Eren felt himself choke on air. Levi laughed outright at him.

"What?"

"He _fucks_ them. He gets off on it. It's called necrophilia. You should look up words you don't know, Eren, it will give you a better understanding of them." Levi chided. Eren knew he was kidding by the shit smirk on his face.

"Shut up, you ass, I know what it means! I just—Erwin doesn't seem like the, I don't know, _type_ to do…_that_."

Levi bit his cheek. "Neither do you. Neither does Mikasa. Neither do—"

"If you're going to mention yourself, then that's a damn lie."

Levi laughed again. "You make a good point."

Silence.

"Does it bother you?" Levi asked in all seriousness, smirk gone. Eren could have laughed. He always had the same firm face whenever someone had something unsavory to say about Mikasa. They were the same in that aspect, always defensive of their loved ones. That was one thing Eren always admired and feared about Levi; he never gave his affection easily, but when he did, it was whole and true.

"Certainly not." He said. "Me and Erwin both like to be inside dead people, just in different ways, after all."

Levi threw his head back and laughed.

"Well said."

* * *

**At Some Point…**

"Where am I dropping you tonight?" His father asked as they got in the car. It was one of his rare nights off, and Eren would have loved to spend it with him, but his father wasn't up for late night talk sessions or movie-watching. He was bone-tired, like always, but he said he would at least drop him off at a friend's tonight. Mikasa was already gone. Eren thought it might be good to leave the house so his dad could get some well-deserved sleep.

"Levi's." He said before thinking. Shit. He should have eased into it.

He saw his father's hand tighten on his seat-belt mutely. Eren frowned at it, and looked up to his father's face. His eyes were suddenly alert and calculating. Double shit.

He started the car and they began the drive in silence.

It was unspoken knowledge between the three of them—himself, his father, and Mikasa— that their father wasn't fond of Levi. They had never met, but they both had set opinions of each other. His father was a detective, after all, but it wasn't rocket science to figure out that the longer Eren and Levi were together, the more people got murdered and put on display. He was sure that his father blamed Levi for Eren's…mindset, but he never commented. Not once. Eren was never sure how he felt about that.

"Is he treating you right?" He asked when they were a block away. Eren winced. His father had figured that out—without Eren saying a word—a long time ago, too.

It was Eren's turn to grip his seatbelt. "Yeah."

They pulled up to the front for the house Erwin and Levi shared. Only a single light was on in the living room, because he was expected.

"You'll tell me if he's not, right?"

Eren laughed weakly. "Yeah, dad." His father nodded.

"Good." Eren went to get out of the car, paused, thought, and then turned and hugged his father tightly.

He felt him freeze. Then relax. Then raise his arms and nearly crush him.

"I love you. Dad." He whispered into his shoulder.

His father was quiet for one second. Two seconds. Three. "I love you too, Eren. Be safe."

Here or Out There?

He'll never know, because his mouth wouldn't work to ask.

He hopped out without a backward glance. Rubbing his sweaty hands on his hands. He felt oddly close to tears for some reason.

When he rang the doorbell, Levi appeared in seconds to answer the door. He probably witnessed their little exchange. He never missed a thing. He was dressed only in pajama pants, his already low eyes even lower while fighting off sleep. Eren felt close to tears for an entirely different reason when he travelled the expanse of his chest with his eyes. Levi wasn't looking at him; his eyes were firmly over his shoulder and locked on target.

Eren turned around, seeing that his father and Levi were having some sort of staring contest—eyes narrowed so far they were almost closed and they both gave new meaning to still—which they held for a long time with Eren looking between them. Then it was over, and his father was looking at him and Levi was drilling holes in the back of his head. Then, in a move that two out of three did not expect, Levi spun him a kissed him square on the lips.

Kissed? More like tried to suck his soul out of his mouth. It was the most passionate kiss they shared in a while and Eren felt a little weak at the knees. Then he came back to earth as Levi kept right on kissing him. He was doing this on Levi's doorstep. In front of his father. After his father just dropped him off. After they just had a staring contest for his honor. _In front of his motherfucking father_. (No pun intended.)

He might've actually died of embarrassment.

That is, until his father let out the longest car-horn beep known to man, then a little series of beeps following it. Levi jumped terribly at the first one, as did Eren. And he couldn't help it; he laughed heartily against his mouth as his father drove away.

* * *

_..._

_In this little number we're graced by two displays of character._

_..._

_Who ruined who, exactly?_

* * *

**A Few Hours Before.**

Everything was ready.

He slipped himself into some sturdy boots. He would need them. He bundled himself up against the chilly January air. He sighed.

He could to do this. This was going to happen. _He_ was _going_ do this. He was _going_ to make this happen.

He clutched as his chest, ignoring the sharp pain there.

Everything was ready.

ǂǁǂ

"_I can't do this. You need to run, Sasha!_" he screamed in her face.

She was very excited today. Nervous and blushing. He wasn't so much of an idiot to not know what she wanted. He'd been aware that she was a little touchier every time they kissed. Despite her enthusiasm, he was sure she was a virgin. Would he take her virginity when he was supposed to be killing her? He wasn't _that _cruel. He wouldn't let her think they would get farther than this. She would just have to be disappointed.

They had been sitting in the woods in Levi's borrowed car. He had kissed her, softly, and felt her delicate body beneath his hands. It was a bad idea. The normalcy, the calm way they touched each other and the small, contented breaths that passed between them. They got him thinking. Thinking about things he never should. What if he gave it up, all this death and destruction? Would it work? He would still be going to the darkest depths of hell for everything he had done, but saving her would count for something, right?

She could make him happy. Hell, she already did. If he walked away with her, he could change. He would go to therapy, try to fix himself. If he trained himself, he could stop himself from thinking about gore and guts and _Levi_, right?

He looked down at his hand which encased one of her breasts.

_No._

Because he would always crave to see the blood that lived in colonies under her skin.

He sighed into her lips.

And then he snapped.

"Eren?" She asked, alarmed. "What are you talking about?"

He didn't have time for her confusion. Levi would be expecting him soon. He would have to explain this quickly.

"Look, Sasha," He started, panicked." I need you to listen, okay?" She nodded weakly.

"I'm not who you think I am." He said, earning a disbelieving snort from her. He nearly rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. Deeper in the woods here, my boyfriend—"

She believed_ that_. "BOYFIREND? What the fuck, Eren?" He didn't let his surprise throw him. Even though he was caught a little off guard by her swearing.

"Yeah." He said, glossing over it. "He's going to kill you. He's kind of…a serial killer." He said. _No, I was supposed to kill you, __**I'm**__ kind of a serial killer, but you don't need to know that._

That's right, Eren, save yourself. That's what you're best at.

Silence.

"_What_?" She said after a few tense moments. "WHAT?"

He sighed. "I know this sounds crazy—"

"Crazy isn't a strong enough word!" She screeched. "So what? You lure stupid, unsuspecting girls into his lair for him?" _Lie, dammit._

"Y-yeah."

"So you think I'm stupid?" she shrieked.

"What? No!"

"You played me**!**" You never liked me!" She looked like she was about to cry.

"I did! I do! If I didn't, I wouldn't be risking my neck to save you!" He yelled.

She froze.

"How many others have you _saved_ like your trying to save me?" She asked.

Bad, bad question. Think of your answer wisely, Jaeger.

Eren looked away.

"None." Nailed it.

She bit her lip then, and put her arms around herself. He wasn't sure what to do with his hands. She would surely react badly if he tried to hug her, and he felt like nothing he could say would keep her from—

She opened the passenger's side door and quickly hopped out. "Wait, where are you going?" He called.

"Far away from you! You're sick!" She shot back.

He climbed out and began to chase her.

"No, Sasha, don't go that way! You need to listen to me—!"

"Shut up! Stay away from me!" She cried.

Sasha ran as fast as she could. Her heart was broken, and somehow it gave strength to her legs. Eren had a boyfriend? A boyfriend that was a serial killer? He was _gay_? He never liked her? Well, he said he did, but could she really listen to anything he had to say anymore? It wouldn't be the best idea, she thought. She was beyond reason now, and more than a little upset. Her feet led her deep into the woods. Sasha was so cold. She coat was working overtime to keep out the sudden burst of frost that settled over the area.

She looked around wildly, trying to find somewhere to hide. Eren's voice seemed to be farther and farther away. She couldn't tell which direction his voice was coming from. In her panic, she became disoriented. But she wouldn't be caught, she wouldn't. She didn't want to die.

"—asha! Sasha, please!" She heard in the distance. She pinched herself to keep from calling back. It would be foolish, but she was _so angry_. Even though it hurt that he didn't like her the way she liked him, it hurt even more because underneath all that, he was supposed to be her_ friend_. They survived high school together. They laughed, and joked, and even cried together! How could he? It was so wrong.

She slowed, nearly coughing at the air's briskness hitting the back of her throat. She couldn't keep it up. He could find her soon if she didn't get out of the open. The woods were dark and frightening. Ever sound had her twisting and turning, hoping it wouldn't be the crunch of feet the dead ground. Sasha whimpered. God, she didn't think she'd been so scared in her life.

Light.

She saw light.

It was small, through a few more thick trees. A single porch light hung in front of a heavy, wooden door. It was some sort of shack. Sasha didn't want to go in, but was freezing. Normally, she would find it certainly strange that a tiny, lit shack would sit here by itself in the middle of the woods, but she wasn't thinking straight.

She grabbed the knob, jiggling it and nearly crying when it wouldn't open. She jumped around, panicky. No good. She would have to move on.

She screamed when hands reached out and grabbed her.

"Sasha!" Eren said, relief coloring his face.

"Let go!" She yelled. "Let go, let go, LET GO!"

She kicked and punched at him but he only held tighter. Since when had he been so strong?

"Please listen to me! We have to get away from here!" He pleaded.

"**_We_** don't have to do anything!"

"Sasha!" He semi-yelled. She could tell he was getting frustrated. She couldn't care less. "Dammit, you ran right **to** him!"

She paused from her flailing. "What?"

Eren looked around, as if he expected someone to jump out of the trees brandishing an axe. She swallowed thickly. Maybe they would. She took him in for a moment. His eyes were wide and shifty. He was breathing as hard as she was. Eren was…scared? Was he actually telling the truth? What had he said earlier?

_"If I didn't, I wouldn't be risking my neck to save you_!"

Oh god. She thought. If they got caught, he would be killed, too.

She had no idea what kind of guy this supposed "boyfriend" was, but from the look Eren's face, he must have put the fear of God into people. Suddenly, she felt terrible. She never gave Eren time to explain. This guy could be forcing him to do this! Eren probably didn't even like him! That made sense to her. Eren wasn't _really_ gay, he just got caught up with the wrong crowd and may be being used and abused by some insane guy! The poor thing!

"What are we going to do?" She whispered. He looked surprised at the moment, probably at her sudden change of heart. He gave her a weak smile.

"Don't worry. I know the fastest way back to the car. I have the keys. We'll go to the police. I'll tell them everything."

"B-but what about you? They'll wonder how you know—"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." A lie, but she didn't comment.

"Eren—"He gripped her shoulders, squeezing tightly and giving her a half-smile, half-grimace.

"It will be okay. We have to move."

"Are you sure?"

Suddenly, Eren's gaze turned sinister. He looked over his shoulder and smirked triumphantly.

"Yeah. I'm sure." He said, and then everything went black.

ǂǁǂ

The room was heavy with smoke.

Sasha nearly choked on it as she woke in degrees. She could barely see what was in front of her past the pain in her head. Her head hurt and her eyes swam. For a moment, she didn't remember where she was. Then, like the force of a ton of bricks, her memory punched into her chest and nearly left her gasping for air.

She had been fooled.

Or, been a fool. To run right to their little murder shack. _Of course it was_. There was nothing else in the woods. No houses, no nothing. She had been stupid to think she could find a shelter. Sasha watched enough horror movies to know that it was a bad idea to hide anywhere in a dark forest, but she had been so scared and hurt, she hadn't thought it through.

(If she, by some miracle, got another chance, she would never be so stupid again.)

She closed her eyes tightly against the pain in her head. More specifically, the back of it. Whoever snuck up behind her had one hell of a swing. They probably used a bat—she could feel the roundness of the object for a split second before white-hot pain exploded inside her head and she went down—and they hit her with everything they had. She wondered if they wished to kill her right then and there. She wondered if they just _should_ have. Sasha didn't want to find out what would happen now that she woke up. Now, her eyes were sealed for a different reason. She had to face facts: Eren was no good.

She wondered where he went wrong. Was he always like this, since they met? Or had this happened sometime during the time she knew him and he was an expert at hiding it? Either way, **_fuck him_**. Was he just feigning friendship, waiting for her to slip up? Did Mikasa know what he did? She seemed like the type to know things like that about her own brother. If she did, then fuck her too. It was messed up. She didn't deserve to be treated like this. Of course she managed to befriend—and fall for—a murderer. It wasn't fair. Sasha felt herself fighting off tears. She had to except something else about this situation.

She was going to die.

Eren already had the chance to let her go, and he didn't. He warned her, yes, but it was probably just part of some sick game that he and his _boyfriend_ were playing at her expense. Even if she didn't die, she would be tortured or worse, and held captive for a long time until they decided to kill her. Did she want to wait to be killed, or would it be better to just get it over with? She couldn't decide.

"Don't think like that." A voice said in front of her. She had been so busy in her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed the figure in front of her. He was sitting in a chair that was bolted to the ground—just as she was—and his bald head gleamed under the overhead light from a light sheen of sweat. His eyes were closed and his head leaned back, but that didn't matter. She would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Connie." Sasha breathed in relief and despair. She could barely fathom how happy she was to see him alive, but her heart nearly fled her chest and tears rushed to her eyes as she realized what this meant.

Sasha and Connie were going to die.

"I'm so happy to see you!" she cried.

He smiled at her painfully. "I think you understand why I can't say the same thing."

Sasha began to shake.

"Don't cry." He whispered as she began to. She saw him struggle slightly in his binds, obviously wanting to reach for him. She nearly smiled at that—but it quickly slipped into a deep frown—at his want to comfort her no matter what. He had always been a sucker for her tears.

"Sasha…" He said, which only caused her to cry louder. Her name on his lips was one of the best sounds she ever heard. Something she never appreciated until she hadn't heard it in a while.

(Until it was the last time it would ever be spoken by him.)

"What are we going to do?" she whined, wishing she could wipe her stained face. Connie just shook his head and gave her a half shrug.

"Nothing."

Sasha sniffled. "We can't just do nothing, Connie, we have to—"

He glared at her to silence her. "Have to do what? You think he _left_? We're in the middle of the woods, Sasha! We can we go?" He looked away sharply. "It's not like I can run anyway."

"What?" She asked. "Why can't you—?"

She looked down, immediately wishing she hadn't. She gagged, feeling close to being sick to her stomach. She swallowed down the putrid bile that rose in her throat and tried to organize her words into a coherent sentence.

"Oh my god." She said in abject horror.

He still wouldn't look at her. "I tried to run, okay? When I realized they were bringing you in, and they weren't paying attention to me, I managed to get out of my cage. It was stupid, I didn't even know where to go—"

"Connie—" Sasha felt like screaming.

"—I barely got anywhere before I realized I couldn't leave you, but then he caught up to me and—"

"Connie—!"

"—I had no idea what he was going to do. He hadn't hurt me before, so I at least thought that—"

"Connie, where are your feet!" She cried, cutting him off. He scrunched his face up in obvious pain and swallowed thickly.

"He cut them off." Connie whispered lowly, hanging his head.

Blood was splattered on the large, formally white tarp underneath them. There was no dripping from his wounds, only blood stained, tightly wrapped bandages that rose all the way up to Connie's knees. They looked professionally done, surgeon-like in its neatness. Sasha pondered how good these two were, to be able to remove someone's feet from their body and not have it bleed uncontrollably. Something told her that the wounds must have been closed somehow, otherwise she doubted she would even be talking to him at the moment. Still, he must have lost a lot of blood from the way his cheeks looked hollowed and worn. His face was a terrible, ash color that made him look as if he was a few more moments from death's door. Sasha also didn't like how he seemed to be fighting for his consciousness every few minutes—his eyes would become hazy and unfocused, and he would go limp and his head would roll downward sharply. She shuddered.

"How are you talking right now?" She asked after she collected herself.

"He gave me something." Connie gritted out as if the thought pained him. "Maybe about thirty minutes ago to erase the pain. The insane part about it is that I don't even feel it. My feet are gone, and I can't feel it. Isn't that insane, Sasha? I don't even feel it." He let out a bitter laugh that made Sasha want to cry again. Connie looked so, so tired. Like he'd already resigned himself to giving up. She hoped not, even though her own hope was next to nothing." He had maybe hundreds of jars of weird stuff. I have no idea what any of it does, but it looks medical." He took a deep breath.

"I-I think he's a demon, Sasha. I can't say for sure, but that man—that man's not normal. I can see it his eyes. He's like evil personified."

Sasha nodded, even though she had no idea what he meant. She still hadn't seen this famous boyfriend. Maybe she didn't want to by the way Connie's eyes were wide and distant, or how his breath sped up and his began to sweat again.

Sasha looked down at her lap. "And Eren's not much better."

Connie looked at her sternly. "What? No! There's no way—"

"_No way_ what?" She asked bitterly, scoffing at him. It was like looking at herself an hour ago, trying to reason that Eren hadn't betrayed them—that he _was _their innocent friend that got wrapped up with the wrong people and this was a huge misunderstanding. She could practically _see _the denial standing behind him, covering his eyes and ears since his own arms couldn't. Misunderstanding her ass. Connie's missing feet spoke enough to her that she had been _wrong_. "No way he would be part of this? Wake up, Connie! He led me here, he tricked me! He knew I would run and he knew just where I would go! He's a crazy murderer!"

Connie sniffled, his eyes wet and low. His whole face looked like it was ready to crumble. "_No_." he whispered sadly. "He's one of my best friends. He wouldn't, he couldn't—"

Sasha shut her eyes tight. "Stop it, Connie. Trust me, I know exactly how you feel, but you have to stop. He's not—or maybe he never was—the Eren we knew."

They fell into silence.

Tears ran, unabashed, down Connie's face, and Sasha shut her eyes not to look at them. It had been a very long time since she saw him cry over anything. It hurt far more than the lump on the back of her head ever could.

Suddenly, Connie threw his head back and bit his lip to keep from screaming. Sasha jolted, eyes snapping open and a panicked look crossing her face. She tugged her tied arms upward, trying in vain to reach for him.

"Connie?! What's wrong!?" she screamed.

He couldn't answer her. His eyes were so wide and pain-filled that she could barely look at him. He kept screaming though gritted teeth, making her want to cover her ears to keep out the high-pitch screech.

"Pain medications worn off." Levi said from the door, waltzing in and standing in between them, looking at Connie with a thinly veiled look of disgust. Sasha stared at him, mouth agape, for what felt like forever. This must be him, the man Connie was talking about. She shivered. She could understand what he was saying earlier, about the man being a demon. His eyes were so cold and uncaring. She shivered at the raw killing intent that rolled off him in thick, dense waves. The butcher's apron he wore was covered in blood—no doubt from the _adjustment_ he gave Connie earlier—and his head and hands were covered in a net and latex gloves. Sasha swallowed thickly, but she couldn't look away. How had she never noticed a man like this around before? It seemed impossible for someone like this to live in this town and no one had ever heard of him. That itself was more frightening to her than his appearance.

Sasha heard a slight noise from the door, and she stiffened when she turned and saw Eren enter through it. They caught each other's eyes as he closed it, and he gave her a slow, satisfied smile and a mocking wave. She couldn't even glare as she began to shake uncontrollably. _Game over_. Rang inside her head. _Eren, if you ever cared about me at all, please make it as painless as possible. _Sasha hoped he would get the mental message_._ And if he did, she hoped he could care.

"It's experimental." Levi explained casually, leaning over Connie and stroking his face. "It's not on the market, yet. Still in the development stages. Apparently, it only lasts a half an hour." Eren chuckled from behind her, walking over and taking his place at Levi's side.

"Why are you doing this to us?!" Sasha nearly screamed. Two pairs of disinterested eyes slid over to her before sharing a quick look. She didn't like that look. Eren shrugged while Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" Levi asked slowly. "Don't take it too personally, this really wasn't about you."

Connie made a small, choking sound. "Then who was it about?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Levi tapped his nose teasingly. "I wanted to see if Eren could do it, if he was really ready, and I was right. That's all."

"That doesn't explain anything!" Sasha cried. "Do what? Hurt us? Well, yeah, you were fucking right!" She huffed. "But I don't understand why it had to be us!"

Levi gave her the coldest look she'd ever seen and sneered at her. "Because Armin was too precious to him, Mikasa's is his sister—and one of us— and Annie too smart to fall for any of these cheap tricks."

Sasha tried to pretend that his words didn't pain her and Connie said nothing, his shallow breaths becoming even shallower. So what was he saying, that they were the least liked by Eren or the most disposable? What the fuck?

Eren sucked in his breath sharply and pushed at Levi's shoulder. "You're saying too much."

Levi pushed him back. "They won't remember soon anyway, so why does it matter?"

"Still—"

Levi rolled his eyes. "Like I said, don't take it _too _personally. If it wasn't for the little fuck Jean, you wouldn't be in this mess. That poor, d_ead_ fuck." He was unfazed by their shocked looks. "What? You didn't think he was still alive, did you? It's been a year, you had to know he wouldn't just _show up_ on graduation day and you all you do one of those slow motion jump pictures together. He's dead. Buried right under your feet, as a matter of fact." Levi laughed mercilessly at their hurt expressions, laughing even harder when he noticed that they were both trying desperately not to look down at the floor beneath them.

When Eren punched him in the arm, he sobered enough to speak. "Thank him, in the afterlife, for touching what wasn't his—" He sent a meaningful look in Eren's direction. "And causing Eren to have to resort to…interesting means to gain back my trust."

"Levi—" Eren huffed.

Levi waved him off. "Fine, fine. Connie—that's your name right?—you were in the way of Eren's little plan to seduce Sasha so I kept you here to keep you from interfering. You weren't apart of the original plan, but I'll never turn down a two for one." He then patted Sasha head like she was a child, running his long fingers through her hair. "And I figured you would be easy enough to fool and lure you here so we could have fun with you."

"So, you—Eren—" Connie began.

"Don't blame him." Levi said, firm eyes shifting to Connie. "This was my test for him. To see if he could sacrifice her to appease me." He sent an appreciative smirk to Eren which was quickly returned. "And he could. I'm so proud." He shrugged. "Or, you can blame him, curse him to the ninth circle of hell for all I care. As I said, it won't matter soon."

"Wait, wait—!" Sasha began.

Levi produced a knife, spun around, and ran it down the side of Connie's face. He smirked maliciously. "Seniority. You've been here the longest, you can go first."

He nudged the knife under Connie's middle finger, biting down a laugh as Connie began to struggle and whine. Levi paused, for dramatic effect, and then pushed upward—exposing the raw skin underneath the thick layer of keratin. Connie screamed outright, jerking his hand around as if moving it would help him escape the pain. Levi pulled the nail away from the cuticle with his thumb and index finger, giving an extra little effort when there was resistance, and flicked it over his shoulder. He started on the next one.

Sasha knew her mouth was open, and that she was screaming, but she had no idea what kind of sound was coming out. She couldn't hear anything. Connie looked like he was in so much pain that she could barely take it. He was trashing and crying hysterically, begging and pleading for him to stop. Levi only chuckled at his cries and began to work faster.

Sasha felt warm breath near her ear and a heavy hand land on her shoulder. When had Eren gotten behind her? She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. He was smiling, without taking his eyes off the back of the man in front of them.

"Isn't it great?" he said, sneaking her a happy look. "He looks so handsome like that, when he's working. I can't lie, it's arousing too." Eren licked his lips, his eyes darkening in lust.

Sasha let out a whimper. "Eren, please—"

He looked at her distractedly. "Don't beg, Sasha. It won't help you any. It's too late." He watched Levi in silence for a few seconds, closing his eyes and seemingly enjoying the sound of Connie's cries, before leaning in close to her ear. "Do you want to know something? I was going to let you go. " He said.

"What—?"

"Shh." He placed a finger over her lips. "Back in the car, I wasn't kidding. I was going to let you go. Say you got away or something and just let him kill Connie. He would have still been happy with that, and still fully forgiven me. But then you _ran_ from me." He glowered at her heatedly, making her flinch. He stroked the side of her face, most likely to comfort her but only serving to frighten her more. "I really felt something for you, all those times we went out and when we kissed. But when you denied me after I put myself on the line for you, I thought about it, and thanks to you, I made the right choice." He gave her a brilliant smile.

"Thank you Sasha, I can finally think clearly, because of you. Levi's the only one for me." Sasha felt her lips part, but no sound escaped.

Levi paused, if on cue, and looked back at them. His smirk was slow, and diabolical, then he stepped back and handed Eren the knife. Connie was gasping for breath and weeping horrible when Eren spoke next.

"You've always loved Sasha, haven't you, Connie?" He asked as he went to stand in front of him. His head was lowered as he couldn't keep it up.

Connie was trying to catch his breath, but it wasn't working. Eren gripped his hair and tipped it back. "Answer me!" He ground out.

"Yes." Connie said weakly, looking to Sasha. She began to cry again. "Yes, I've always loved her."

Eren hummed. "She's always held your heart in her hands without even knowing it, hasn't she?"

"Yes."

"I love you too, Connie. I really do." Sasha said suddenly between sobs.

"Sasha…" He whispered, smiling weakly.

Eren looked between them with a raised eyebrow while Levi rolled his eyes and muttered: "How _heartwarming_."

"Well you know what?" Eren said abruptly. "I think she should hold it _for real_." With that, he plunged the knife into Connie's chest, craving a whole onto the cavity and reaching inside. Sasha leaned over the chair and vomited, coughing and shrieking at the same time. She gagged at the sick _squelch_ of Eren's hand inside of his body, at the blood that flowed dark and freely down his middle, at the heart that was clutched in the hand that she held an hour ago. She screamed as loud as she could, closing her eyes so she wouldn't see Connie's wide, unseeing eyes and his ashen face.

"No!" She yelled over and over. "No, no, no!"

Eren patted Connie's head with his free hand, leaning over and kissing his forehead gently.

"Here." He said after turning to her. "Take it."

She couldn't even make another sound as the heart landed in her lap.

Levi sighed and crossed his arms. "That's one. Now finish it. My ears are bleeding from all her noise."

Sasha sniffled and panicked as Eren nodded. "Wait, Eren, don't—"

"Too late." He said. "But, before you go, I'll tell you this."

He leaned in, kissing her once on the cheek. "I felt butterflies when we kissed." He said as he sliced her mouth from ear to ear. He lapped up the blood like a cat as her eyes rolled back into her head. "And your hands were so soft when I held them." He cut cleanly over her wrists and placed easy kisses over top of them. "But my favorite thing_ had_ to be your sweet voice." Eren dragged the knife over her creamy throat, watching emotionlessly as she gurgled on her own blood and the light faded from her eyes. He smiled as she quickly left the world. He reached into her exposed throat, grasping her vocal cords and tugged them out.

"I think I'll keep these to remember you by." He said.

Eren dropped the knife.

.

..

…

….

…..

Levi watched him silently. Eren had yet to take his eyes off of her body even after thirty minutes passed. Levi slipped behind him and wrapped his arms around Eren's middle, leaning his head on his shoulder. "Stay with me." He muttered.

Eren let out a startled laugh, his voice catching slightly. Levi chose not to comment. "I'm here."

"Good."

Eren leaned back into his chest and closed his eyes. "What are we going to do with them?" He asked.

Levi let out a deep breath. "I'm promised them to Erwin and Mikasa."

"…" He had expected as much. It was better this way. He didn't feel like making art out of these two. Not them. Even so, they weren't getting much better than being displayed in the city. But at least this way he wouldn't have to see their bodies again.

"Let's go. They're outside waiting."

Eren nodded slowly. "Hey, Levi?"

"Yes?"

"When we get back to the car, you're going to fuck me, alright?"

Levi looked surprised for a second, before smirking darkly and taking his hand. "Alright."

Eren smirked back weakly and felt…content.

Yes, he felt content.

* * *

_This is gospel…for the fallen ones—locked away in permanent slumber. Assembling their philosophies (From pieces of broken memories.)_

…

_"It's a hell of a time—when monsters roam free and demons hide in plain sight." —Unknown_

* * *

"What's the rush?" Erwin asked as Levi and Eren nearly ran past them. Mikasa gave him a dry look and rolled her eyes.

"As if you don't know." She said flippantly.

Erwin looked confused for a minute, blowing on his fingers against the cold, before smiling and chuckling.

"We need to make this quick, don't we? You have to work tomorrow, right?" Mikasa asked.

Erwin shrugged and went inside. "I'm a doctor, I'm used to running on little sleep. And Levi...he'll be fine, don't worry about it. It's not like he had set work hours, if you know what I mean." Mikasa nodded in understanding. "Besides, let them have all the time they need. Levi will finally let it go now that this is over and done with."

"He really knows how to hold a grudge." Mikasa muttered.

"Tell me about it." Erwin responded.

They took in the scene in front of them—one a little sadly and the other excitedly. Mikasa went to Sasha first, smoothing back her hair and leaning her forehead against her still-warm one. She took less time with Connie, not to get caught up in her emotions, only leaning in and giving him a small peck on the cheek.

Erwin watched in silence.

He had no attachment to these kids whatsoever, but he would let her have her moment. Speaking of which, he had no idea what Mikasa was doing here. He knew that she knew about them, and that she did some things herself, but he had no idea what it was. She'd never come with them before. Maybe it was because she knew the victims that she came? He couldn't be sure. The only way to know would be to ask. But while she was paying her respects he would wait.

Anyway, he had no interest in the boy, but the girl was pretty enough. He guessed he would let Mikasa do what she would with his body.

"I take it you want Sasha?" She said as if reading his thoughts.

"If Sasha is the girl, then yes."

"Yeah. Eren told me you were only into girls."

"Dead ones, you mean."

Mikasa shrugged. "I figured it was implied."

Erwin laughed.

"What kind of things are you planning for him?" He questioning, gesturing to Connie's slumped form.

Mikasa's face twisted suddenly into something dark and distorted. She licked her lips and Erwin smirked at the look. Such _intensity_. Mikasa smiled sinisterly.

_For siblings that aren't blood related, they sure make the same faces. _Erwin thought.

"_Delicious_ things." She replied.

* * *

_(So I stayed in the darkness with you….)_

* * *

_I don't know what you've done to me, but before this night is thorough, I want to do bad things with you. I want to do real bad things with you._

* * *

**END.**

**Goodbye Forever. **If you want an explanation for that, get in line because I want one too.

—TheWonderYears


End file.
